2026.01.06 07:01
‘Shuttlecock Queen’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) won the first game of the new year. Even though the match was unexpectedly close, the team ended up winning and smiling brightly. It seemed like a preview of the trend that would continue this year.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in badminton women’s singles, achieved a come-from-behind victory with a game score of 2-1 (19-21 21-16 21-18) after a close match of 1 hour and 15 minutes in the round of 32 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000) against 12th-ranked Michelle Lee (Canada) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 6th. Reached the round of 16. The next opponent to advance to the quarterfinals is Japanese veteran Nozomi Okuhara (31, ranked 30th).
Ahn Se-young stood tall as an absolute powerhouse recognized by everyone last year. BWF dominated the women’s singles game by leaving behind a series of meaningful milestones such as the most wins in a single season (11 wins), the highest winning percentage (94.8%, 73 wins, 4 losses), and the highest prize money ($1,003,175, approximately 1.44 billion won). Since Ahn Se-young’s victory was considered a constant, the topic of each competition was ‘who will stop Ahn Se-young?’
In celebration of the Year of the Red Horse, Ahn Se-young, born in 2002, has a new goal: the Grand Slam. Having previously won the Olympics, World Championships, and Asian Games, he will fill the final puzzle piece to achieve the Grand Slam when he reaches the top of the Asian Championships in April.
Although there is no opponent that can compete in terms of skill alone, it is not a situation to be optimistic about achieving the goal. This is because it is still difficult to gauge how the new game rules that BWF is preparing to introduce this season will affect Ahn Se-young. BWF decided to change the existing rule of taking a game to a 15-point system if the player scores 21 points first. It is scheduled to be applied to international competitions as soon as it is approved at the general meeting in May.
In addition, the ’25-second shot clock’ system, which is being tested in this competition, may become a variable if officially introduced in the future. The new rule requires players to be ready to resume the next play within 25 seconds after the referee finishes updating the score. If you exceed the given time by drinking water, wiping sweat, or spraying cooling spray, you lose points. Both the 15-point system and the 25-second time limit reflect BWF’s will to increase excitement and immersion by reducing the game time.
From now on, the bracket is also an important variable that must be considered. As Ahn Se-young has emerged as a ‘public enemy’, it is highly likely that opposing players will analyze him more thoroughly to find his weaknesses. The same was true for Michelle Lee, who faced her first opponent of the new year. Although he had previously met with Ahn Se-young eight times and lost all of them, this time he caught Ahn Se-young off guard with an early attack that led to a bloody battle that lasted 75 minutes. After losing the first game 19-21, Ahn Se-young struggled until the beginning of the second game before finally regaining control and achieving a come-from-behind victory.
China, a traditional powerhouse with three players in the top 5 of the women’s singles world rankings, is expected to make a fierce counterattack. Chinese media said, “It is difficult for just one player to stop Ahn Se-young’s dominance. At any stage of the tournament, each player who faces Ahn Se-young must make an all-out effort to reduce his stamina and concentration.” They say they will fight using the ‘shuttlecock tactic’.
The same goes for this competition. Ahn Se-young is expected to meet No. 5 Han Yue in the quarterfinals, Chen Yufei (No. 4) in the semifinals, and Wang Ziyi (No. 2) in the finals. China’s Sohu.com wrote, “Ahn Se-young accepted the match of death,” and “This is a golden opportunity to show the spicy taste of Chinese badminton.”
Song Ji-hoon ([email protected])
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