‘Badminton Empress’ Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance)’s challenge to win 11 gold medals in a single season for the first time in history will be put to a tough test from the start.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) also assesses that the start of the BWF 2025 World Tour Finals, which Ahn Se-young will face, will not be easy at all, and in fact appears to be acknowledging the formation of the ‘Group of Death’.
On the 14th (Korean time), BWF predicted in an article titled ‘Early Test for An Se Young’ that “World No. 1 Ahn Se Young, who is aiming for her 11th win this season, will have a difficult start from the group stage.”
Ahn Se-young was assigned to women’s singles group A and was placed in a group with World Championship champion Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), badminton powerhouse Indonesia’s ace Putri Kusma Wardani, and World Junior Championship winner Tomokawa Miyazaki, Japan’s next-generation prospect.
BWF pointed out that this group is “a structure in which the Olympic champion and world champion face each other directly in the group stage,” emphasizing that the highest level of competition will take place from the beginning of the competition.
The World Tour Finals held in Hangzhou is a king-of-the-match competition in which only the top eight players in World Tour points throughout the year participate.
It has special meaning in that it is not simply the final competition of the season, but a stage that summarizes the flow and status of the season.
For Ahn Se-young, this competition carries more weight than just a title. She has already won 10 competitions this season, setting a new record for the most wins in a single season in women’s singles. If she reaches the top in this competition, she will reach an unprecedented milestone of winning 11 gold medals for the first time in history.
However, BWF emphasized that, as important as the record is, the process will not be easy.
BWF analyzed, “Given the competition structure in which only the top two players from the group advance to the semifinals, the results of each game could be fatal.”
In particular, the presence of Akane Yamaguchi is a key factor in defining Group A as the ‘Group of Death’. Yamaguchi is the world championship champion held in Paris, France last August, and his overall record against Ahn Se-young is completely tight, with 15 wins and 15 losses. Ahn Se-young lost to Chen Yu-fei (China) at the World Championships at the time, was eliminated in the semifinals, and took third place.
BWF also explained the weight of this match by saying that Yamaguchi is “one of the most difficult opponents for Ahn Se-young.”
There may be an opinion that there is no problem because the semi-final advance is given to the top two players.
However, we cannot let our guard down because there are variables such as Wardani and Miyazaki, rising stars in the same group. In addition, if he competes with Yamaguchi in the group stage, he will go to the semifinals and finals with his stamina exhausted. He may meet Yamaguchi again in the semifinals through the tournament draw and play two days in a row.
Considering Ahn Se-young and Yamaguchi’s style, which is characterized by tenacious defense and long rallies, physical strength consumption is an important variable that can affect the finals.
In terms of record against the other two players, Ahn Se-young is ahead with all 7 wins (Wardani) and 5 wins (Yamaguchi), but BWF defined the two players as “rising stars” and evaluated them as formidable figures.
Wardani recently had experience facing Ahn Se-young in the finals of the Australian Open. Miyazaki is doing his best, winning the first game in his most recent match with Ahn Se-young.
Of course, Ahn Se-young’s season performance is still overwhelming.
Starting with the Malaysia Open, he has won a total of 10 titles, including the India Open, Orleans Masters, All England Open, Indonesia Open, Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open, and Australian Open. His record of winning 10 times out of 14 international competitions goes beyond being ranked number one in the world and is so unique that he deserves to be called the season’s dominant player.
BWF also said that the 11th championship is not a foregone conclusion due to this group formation, but considering Ahn Se-young’s performance and completeness this season, he was still evaluated as the strongest candidate for the championship.
BWF explained, “If Ahn Se-young wins in Hangzhou, he will tie the record of 11 wins in a single season set by Kento Momota,” making it clear that this tournament has the potential to lead to a historic moment.
It is already an unprecedented record in terms of women’s singles, and is one of the greatest records in both men’s and women’s singles.
Meanwhile, in men’s doubles as well as Ahn Se-young, the Korean team was drawn into a tough group from the beginning.
The world’s No. 1 team, Won-ho Kim and Seung-jae Seo (Samsung Life Insurance), are also competing for records in the World Tour Finals, and are facing a group stage in which they can never let down their guard.
BWF announced in an official announcement that the pair of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae has been placed in men’s doubles group A.
This group included Malaysia’s Man Wei Chong and Thi Kai Un (world ranked 5th), Indonesia’s Savar Karyaman Gutama and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Isfahani (world ranked 8th), and Taiwan’s Zhu Xiangjie and Wang Chi-lin.
BWF also evaluated this group, saying, “It will be a difficult group stage for the Korean group, which is aiming for its 11th championship this season.”
With both the women’s singles and men’s doubles expected to have a difficult path starting from the group stage, attention is focused on how Korean players will overcome the initial test, as is the case with the BWF.
Photo = BWF / Yonhap News
