(Reporter Junseok Yoon, Xports News) The Korean women’s badminton team concluded the match early by sweeping three games in a row in the quarterfinals of the team event.
Following Ahn Se-young’s complete victory and Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jung’s overwhelming doubles victory, ‘badminton beauty’ Park Ga-eun (ranked 70th in the world), who played 3 singles, also added a victory, confirming advancement to the semifinals.
The women’s national team finished the match against Malaysia in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships held at the Kon Son Gymnasium in Qingdao, China on the 6th (Korean time) in three games. The team event is a best-of-five format consisting of three singles and two doubles.
Korea won both of the previous two games, and Park Ga-eun, who started as a third singles runner, won 2-0 (21-16 21-12) against Wong Ling-ching (world No. 41), confirming the team’s victory.
It was perfect from the start. World No. 1 singles player Ahn Se-young took the lead by defeating Karupateban Ressana 2-0 (21-11, 21-11). Ahn Se-young steadily took the first step in the team competition by showing off his unique defensive concentration, sophisticated net play, and high-quality game management, including switching to a rear attack.
In the second doubles game that followed, the hastily created combination of Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong further increased the momentum. They defeated Malaysia’s Ong Sin Lee-Kamen Ting 2-0 (21-13, 21-9), increasing the team score to 2-0. After a fierce first game, the score gap widened significantly from the beginning in the second game, and the team achieved victory after a one-sided game.
As a result, Korea entered the third round with an absolute advantage of advancing to the semifinals with just one more game. And Park Ga-eun put an end to the match.
In game 1, Park Ga-eun set the tone by taking a 4-1 lead early in the game, and continued to play the game stably, maintaining a lead of around 3 points. After entering the interval at 11-7, the score gap narrowed at one point due to Wong Ling-qing’s pursuit, but he scored at every crucial moment, including a successful smash after a difficult defense.
A fierce battle continued in the second half, but the team secured the victory at 18-15 with a hairpin on an exquisite course, and eventually finished game 1 with a score of 21-16, clearly taking control of the game.
In game 2, Park Ga-eun continued the trend. They took the lead early on by taking a 2-0 lead, and although they allowed the score to be tied 4-4, they immediately regained momentum with a smash. Afterwards, they widened the score gap with various patterns such as short smashes and diagonal attacks, entering the 11-8 interval. Park Ga-eun, who did not let go of the lead even after the mid-game, closed the game at 17-11 with a diagonal smash, ultimately ending the game at 21-12.
With Park Ga-eun’s victory, Korea completed the team match score of 3-0, confirming its advancement to the semifinals without playing the remaining 2 doubles and 3 singles matches.
Korea’s upward trend that has continued since the group stage continues into the tournament. The national team defeated Singapore 5-0 and also won 4-1 against Chinese Taipei, taking first place in the group and advancing to the quarterfinals. And they secured a ticket to the semifinals with a complete victory in the quarterfinals without giving up a single game.
The opponent in the semifinals is the winner of the Thailand-Indonesia match.
A structure was formed in which China and Japan, which are considered the strongest women’s badminton countries, were placed on opposite sides and avoided until the final. It is evaluated as a matchup that further increased the possibility of advancing to the finals in that it simultaneously avoided the two teams that were considered the most difficult opponents in the late stages of the tournament.
Also, considering the schedule in which the intervals between games become shorter towards the latter part of the tournament, the fact that the game was completed in three games is also evaluated as a great achievement.
In particular, it is significant in that the new combination showed stability in doubles, and in singles, both Ace and Next Generation Resources achieved victory.
Korea can already secure a spot in the finals of the World Women’s Team Championship (Uber Cup) to be held in April just by reaching the semifinals, and Korea has already passed the first hurdle.
The women’s national team plans to continue its upward trend with the goal of winning the team event. The Korean women’s national team recorded runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2022.
Photo = Yonhap News / BWF / Park Ga-eun’s Instagram
Reporter Junseok Yoon jupremebd@xportsnews.com
