An Se-young: Facing Rising Competition & Future Goals

[스포티비뉴스=조용운 기자] Ahn Se -young (23, Samsung Life), the No. 1 badminton women’s singles world ranking, failed to win the home.

Ahn Se-young was frustrated by the normal challenge by losing 0-2 (18-21, 13-21) to Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane (4th in the world) in the 2025 World Badminton Federation (BWF) Korea Open (Super 500) Women’s Singles Finals held at the Suwon Indoor Gymnasium on the 28th. He overwhelmed his opponent with his unwavering performance throughout the competition, but in the final, he could not exceed the last hump in heavy footwork.

The result was painful for Ahn Se -young. In 2022 and 2023, he was aiming for the summit in two years at the Korea Open, which set up the position of the shuttlecock in the home, but finally did not lift the trophy. Akane and their opponents, who scored three games in this year’s confrontation and balanced 14 wins and 14 losses, fell back to the defeat. It is more painful that the momentum has been cut off recently.

Before the tournament, the world’s top players, such as Wang Wi, Hanwe, and Cheonsu Pay, were absent, and the biggest trouble was Yamaguchi. As expected, the confrontation in the final was fierce from the beginning. Ahn Se -young started her first point and started a pleasantly, but soon Yamaguchi took the flow with a unique sharp drop shot and a fast footwork. Ahn Se-young, who was good at defense by using a wide coat, was defensive, and scored 4-8. Eventually, the first interval was taken to 6-11.

Ahn Se -young did not sit down. He regained his unique defensive concentration, holding a long rally, and fought back with a bold smash. As he entered the 15th point, he narrowed his score step by step, caught up with the tie for 17-17, and looked at the opportunity to reverse. However, in the long -term rally, he was quickly consumed, and he lost his strength at the moment, and eventually gave the first game with a continuous run.

The second game was similar. Ahn Se -young seemed to be heavy from the beginning, and he could not chase Yamaguchi’s sharp course to the end. I left anxiously behind 2-6, and every time I gave a point, I was captured by the camera.

Ahn Se -young did not catch up with the opponent’s fast tempo. As the gap between 8-14, Ahn Se-young’s expression hardened, and eventually kneeled 13-21 without turning the flow.

There are many things that I felt in the bitter defeat. After the game, Ahn Se -young said, “Yamaguchi played a perfect game. I was dragged and played a hard game.”

“The early momentum was good, but there were a lot of shortcomings due to the lack of health in the second half,” he added.

Although he stayed in the runner -up, Ahn Se -young’s this season is still overwhelming. He has reached the top seven at the 11 international competitions this season, including this tournament. After sweeping the Super 1000 tournaments such as Malaysia Open, Jeon Young Open, and Indonesia Open, the Indian Open, Japan Open, China Open (Super 750) and Orlen Masters (Super 300) have been firmly defeated.