World badminton star An Se-young is skipping the BWF World Tour Kumamoto Masters, prompting Chinese media to declare the tournament an open field for everyone else.
“This tournament is the best opportunity for the Chinese national team to win the women’s singles title,” Beijing Youth Daily reported on Saturday.
The world number one sat out the Super 500 event to rest and recover from the heavy physical toll and injuries carried through a demanding schedule.
Dominant 2018 season statistics
An’s absence opened a clear path for competitors like third-ranked Wang Zhiyi and fourth-ranked Chen Yufei to chase a rare title.
An holds a 71-1 record across 72 matches this season, boasting a 98.6% win rate.
Her only individual tournament loss this year came against Wang in the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships final in March. Since then, An has strung together 55 match victories.
She captured 11 titles across 12 individual events entered this season, sweeping eight World Tour trophies alongside gold medals at the Badminton Asia Championships, the BWF World Championships, and the Asian Games.
Kumamoto Masters final showdown
Japanese organizers anticipated a strong run from world number two Akane Yamaguchi on home soil at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Wang advanced to the final by defeating Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 21-10, 21-15 in 43 minutes on Saturday.
The other semifinal brought trouble for the Chinese squad when Chen faced Yamaguchi. Chen took the first game 21-18 before dropping the second 8-21 and falling behind 4-11 in the decider before retiring with an injury.
Chen returned to competition following a two-month layoff due to an ankle injury. Playing four consecutive days through the opening rounds and semifinals created a heavy physical burden, leading to her mid-match withdrawal.
Next BWF World Tour finals
Wang and Yamaguchi face each other in the women’s singles final on Sunday. Both players carry recent history against An, who defeated Yamaguchi 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the Korea Open final to secure her 11th title of the year.
That victory matched the single-season record of 11 titles set by Japan’s Kento Momota in 2019 and equaled by An herself last season. An stands as the first player to reach 11 titles in back-to-back seasons.
An returns to action at the BWF World Tour Finals scheduled from December 9 to 13 in Hangzhou, China. A victory there would push her to 12 titles for the year, establishing a new single-season record.
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