Ahn Se-young: Badminton Dominance & Team Concerns

[OSEN=우충원 기자] Ahn Se-young is still at the center of Korea on the world badminton stage in the 2025 season. Although they virtually dominate the women’s singles field with overwhelming results and performance, voices overseas are growing concerned about the structural imbalance in Korean badminton.

On the 2nd (hereinafter referred to as Korean time), Indonesia’s Volasport focused on Korean badminton’s men’s singles and mixed doubles power, saying, “The spotlight focused on Ahn Se-young is covering up a more fundamental problem facing the Korean national team.”

First of all, Korea’s strengths were clearly acknowledged. In women’s singles, there is a clear ace in world number one Ahn Se-young, who is currently considered one of the most dominant players in badminton. In addition, it was analyzed that the women’s doubles pair of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, and the men’s doubles pair of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho are supporting Korea’s international status with world-class competitiveness.

However, Volasport drew a line, saying, “Ahn Se-young’s success does not represent the competitiveness of Korean badminton as a whole.” In fact, while Ahn Se-young achieved the record for the most wins in a single season by winning as many as 11 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour competitions in one year, the problem was pointed out that in men’s singles, there is no player who is consistently ranked in the top tier of international competitions.

Bolaspoort said, “Behind the brilliant report card, there is a serious problem lurking: a weakening of the men’s singles and mixed doubles.” In the case of men’s singles, unlike the past when Son Wan-ho showed his presence on the world stage, Korea is currently losing its competitiveness. Although Heo Kwang-hee and Jeon Hyeok-jin are struggling, the analysis followed that it is not easy to even advance to the top round compared to Victor Excelson (Denmark) or top Chinese players.

Mixed doubles was also considered an unsafe situation. Volasport pointed out, “The pair of Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jeong achieved an outstanding performance by winning the World Championships, but there was too much dependence on that combination.” This group was disbanded after the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Chae Yu-jeong announced her retirement in November of last year.

The pair of Paris Olympic silver medalists Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun followed, but this combination was also disbanded. Volasport evaluated that compared to countries with a strong player base, such as China’s Zheng Siwei-Huang Yachong and Feng Yanze-Huang Dongping, Korea’s mixed doubles has a different weight. It is pointed out that a vacuum in core power could act as a factor of long-term instability.

Volasport warned, “If Korea’s core team suffers an injury or is in poor condition, there is a high possibility that it will fall sharply out of the medal race.” He then looked at this problem as a system-level task rather than an individual skill. “Korea is not at a stage where it can rest on its laurels as a country that possesses Ahn Se-young. The existence of a superstar like Ahn Se-young is certainly a great asset, but as the dependence on a specific player increases, the downturn in other sports may accelerate,” he analyzed.

Lastly, the media emphasized, “There is a need for long-term development and expansion of investment in men’s singles and mixed doubles in general, moving away from the women’s singles-centered structure.” The foreign media’s diagnosis, raised behind Ahn Se-young’s remarkable performance, clearly shows the tasks that must be addressed in order for Korean badminton to leap to the next level. / [email protected]

Woo Choong-won ([email protected])