[스포티비뉴스=박대현 기자] It is not an exaggeration to call the 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour the ‘Ahn Se-young League’.
The queen of badminton won the Denmark Open and lifted the trophy for her 8th international championship this year.
When he dismissed world number 2 Wang Zhiyu (China) 2-0 and achieved his 58th win this season, even the rival country’s media gushed, calling him “a truly scary genius.”
Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, defeated Wang Zhiyu 2-0 (21-5 24-22) in the final of the BWF World Tour Super 750 Denmark Open held in Odense, Denmark on the 19th (Korean time).
Game 1 was close to perfect.
Ahn Se-young, who took the lead at 4-1, did not give up the momentum he had once gained.
The score gap quickly widened to 11-3.
Wang Zhiyu’s defense was shaky from the beginning. Ahn Se-young thoroughly exploited the opponent’s weaknesses.
From the rear, the angle of the racket was slightly changed and Wang Zhi’s feet were tied. In front of the net, he stole the timing with an exquisite drop shot.
All of this seemed calculated and elaborate.
The first game result was 21-5. Ahn Se-young succeeded in suppressing the baseline in just 15 minutes.
The local broadcaster gave a thumbs up, saying, “Nowadays, world women’s badminton is like a league of one player.”
▲ Yonhap News / Xinhua News Agency
However, the atmosphere of the two games was different. Wang Zhiyu pushed forward at a fast tempo.
Ahn Se-young lost his rhythm early on and conceded six consecutive goals. We fell behind by 3-10. Followed by 6-15. Everyone watching expected 3 games.
However, Ahn Se-young thought differently. We were only looking for a way to overturn the score and finish in 2 games.
The highlight film came out at this time. In a situation where the score was 10-18, he scored 8 points.
In this process, the series of long rallies exchanged with Wang Zhiyu were themselves ‘legendary edits’.
No matter how Wang Zhiyu aimed at the corner of the court, the shuttlecock he hit did not touch the opponent’s floor.
Ahn Se-young took one step at a time and looked for an opportunity.
At 17-18, Ahn Se-young’s straight attack was aimed at Wang Zhi-wi’s body. The world’s second-ranked player could not receive it.
Score 18-18. The flow of the court was completely reversed.
Ahn Se-young, who reached the championship point with a score of 23-22 in the second game, raised both arms and roared.
Wang Zhiyu’s cross hairpin was slightly out of line. The audience gave a standing ovation and cheers, and the Korean national flag waved.
▲ Yonhap News / EPA
Ahn Se-young’s real weapon is ‘defense’.
It goes beyond simply being a skill at catching shuttlecocks, and has the nature of psychological warfare to break the opponent’s will.
Even if you keep attacking the enemy, it feels like you’re hitting a wall.
It is noticeable that even the world’s top ranker is psychologically collapsing in front of Ahn Se-young.
Badminton is a sport where both instantaneous speed and long-term stamina are important.
It requires tremendous stamina to react to a falling shuttlecock with instantaneous reaction speed and to endure long rallies, sometimes around 2 minutes.
Ahn Se-young is a complete player with physical strength, psychological warfare, and game management.
Chinese badminton has dominated the world badminton world for a long time.
However, the past two years have not been easy. At the center is Ahn Se-young.
China’s Sohu.com wrote on the 19th, “The first game was disastrous and the second game was hopeless,” referring to the Danish Open finals that ended with Wang Zhiyu’s complete defeat.
“When Wang Zhiyu, who was leading 18-10, started to waver, the Korean genius girl did not miss the opportunity and completely dominated the court,” he said, shaking his head.
According to Sohu, Ahn Se-young accumulated 58 wins and 4 losses this season, with a winning percentage of 93.5%.
Chinese fans are also surprised by the amazing numbers. On Weibo, China’s representative SNS, the comment “The only one who can beat Ahn Se-young is himself” is receiving the most response.
China’s pride, Wang Zhiyu, Han Yue (3rd place), Chen Yufei (5th place), etc. were all defeated by ‘2025 Ahn Se-young’ again and again.
Chen Yufei failed early in the round of 16 of the Denmark Open and did not even get a chance to match An Se-young, and Wang Zhiyu also had to stick to her supporting role in the finals of the tournament.
▲ Yonhap News / EPA
Of course, Ahn Se-young’s 2025 is not without flaws. It wasn’t all that smooth.
After eight wins, there were several painful losses.
Last July, he withdrew from the semifinals of the China Open due to a knee injury, and at the Paris World Championships in August, his bid for a second consecutive title was defeated by Chen Yufei.
Last month, in the final of the Korea Open held in her country, she was shocked by Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), losing 0-2.
Nevertheless, Ahn Se-young is stable. The slump doesn’t last long.
His extraordinary ‘mentality’ was evident in the way he took revenge on Yamaguchi, whom he met again in the semifinals of this year’s Denmark Open, by beating him 2-1.
Currently, the center of gravity of world badminton is clear. This is Ahn Se-young.
In the 12 competitions he participated in this year, he swept 8 championship trophies.
He won three Super 1000 series (Malaysia Open, All England Open, and Indonesia Open), four Super 750 series (India Open, Japan Open, China Open, and Denmark Open), and the Super 300 tournament, the Orleans Masters.
Now Ahn Se-young’s gaze turns to Paris, France. The goal is to win the season’s 9th crown at the 2025 BWF French Open (Super 750), which will be held from the 21st. After catching its breath through low-altitude flight for a while, ‘Ahn Se-young’s Era’ again increased its altitude and entered a circular orbit.
