The Korean badminton team won its first match, defeating Singapore 5-0 in the women’s group Z stage of the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships held in Qingdao, China. While Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, and world number three in women’s doubles, Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, did not play, Kim Hye-jung and Kong Hee-jeong won 2-0, confirming the team’s victory. This tournament is Korea’s first opportunity to challenge for the championship.
[OSEN=고성환 기자] Korean badminton was strong even without ‘ace’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance). They decorated their first match with a pleasant victory and began their journey to win the first ever Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships.
The Korean women’s badminton team defeated Singapore 5-0 in the first match of the women’s group Z of the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships held at the Conson Gymnasium in Qingdao, China on the 3rd (Korean time).
The Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships are national competitions held every two years. It is played in the following order: singles – doubles – singles – doubles – singles. The winner is decided in a best-of-five series, but the characteristic feature is that all games are played up to the fifth game, regardless of the outcome.
In this tournament, 11 countries will participate and be divided into 4 groups and play in the group stage. The top two countries from each group advance to the quarterfinals and a tournament to determine the winner. It is also a ‘continental qualifier’ that determines qualification for the finals of the World Men’s and Women’s Team Championships (Uber Cup) to be held in Denmark in April. The top four teams qualify for the Uber Cup.
On this day, Korea achieved an easy victory against Singapore. In the first singles, Kim Ga-eun started off by defeating Yeo Ah-min 2-0 (21-8 21-5) in 24 minutes, followed by the first doubles team of Kim Hye-jung and Kong Hee-jung, who won 2-0 (21-9 21-11) over Siyaan-heung and Jin Yu-jia. And in the second singles, Park Ga-eun confirmed her victory early by defeating Insira Khan 2-0 (22-20 21-10).
There was no victory for Singapore in the remaining games. The pair of Seojin Lee and Yeonwoo Lee also won 2-0, and Minji Kim, who played the final singles match, came from behind to win 2-1, putting emphasis on a 5-0 victory.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, took a break. The world’s third-ranked women’s doubles pair, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana, were also not included. Ahn Se-young, who saved her stamina, is expected to take a day off and play in the match against Taiwan or the tournament on the 5th.
Korean badminton is attempting to win its first ever championship in this tournament. So far, the women’s division has achieved second place twice in 2020 and 2022, which is its best performance ever. Last year, he did not participate at all. However, this time, the team was made up of elite members, including Ahn Se-young, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana, and the world’s 5th ranked Kim Hye-jung and Kong Hee-jung.
Conversely, neighboring countries China and Japan did not make all their efforts. As it was an Uber Cup preliminaries, unlike Korea, many of the core members were excluded.
China’s women’s singles world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, No. 3 Chen Yufei, and No. 5 Han Yue are all missing. In addition, the women’s doubles world number one pair of Ryu Seong-su and Tanning will not participate. It is interpreted as a choice to focus on the German Open (Super 300) to be held at the end of February.
Japan’s top women’s singles players, including Akane Yamaguchi (4th in the world) and Tomoka Miyazaki (9th in the world), did not participate. This is why Korea’s first win in the competition is expected.
[사진] Korean Badminton Association/BADMINTON PHOTO.
