Defeated 2nd place Wang Zhiyi 2-0 in the Badminton Malaysia Open final.
‘Golden duo’ Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also won the championship after defeating the Malaysian group.
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[AFP=연합뉴스]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), ranked No. 1 in the badminton women’s singles world rankings, showed off her status as the ‘world’s best’ by lifting the championship trophy from the first competition of the new year.
Ahn Se-young defeated 2nd place Wang Zhiyi (China) 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in 56 minutes in the final of the World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th.
With this, Ahn Se-young achieved a milestone of three consecutive wins in this competition, following 2024 and 2025.
In particular, he once again defeated Wang Zhiyi, who had won all eight of their meetings last year, and maintained an overwhelming advantage in his overall record against opponents with 17 wins and 4 losses.
At the beginning of the game, Ahn Se-young was shaken for a moment. They gave up 5 points in a row at the beginning of the first game and fell behind 1-6, but they tenaciously caught up and reached the interval with a score of 10-11.
Ahn Se-young, who had regrouped, showed incredible concentration afterwards. They scored 7 points in a row to immediately turn the tide and win the first game.
In the second game, Wang Ziyi, who was fierce, fought back fiercely.
Ahn Se-young gave up the lead by conceding 7 points while leading 8-7.
However, Ahn Se-young was not one who would easily back down. In a situation where the loss was close at 13-19, Ahn Se-young showed off his strong back and scored 6 points in an instant to tie the score at 19-19.
The match ended in deuce. After a fierce battle that started with the score at 20-20 and resulted in the score being tied three times, Ahn Se-young, who succeeded in turning the score around to 23-22, sealed the win by stabbing the opponent’s court with her signature sharp diagonal cross shot.
Ahn Se-young wrote a new history in badminton last year by tying the record for the most wins (11 wins), the highest winning percentage ever for a singles player (94.8%), and the highest accumulated prize money ever ($1,003,175).
Ahn Se-young, who got off to a good start by winning the first tournament in 2026, takes a moment to catch her breath and competes in the India Open, which opens on the 13th, to aim for the top again.
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[AFP=연합뉴스]
The men’s doubles ‘golden duo’ Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim (Samsung Life Insurance), who combined for 11 wins last year and set the record for the most wins in a single season alongside Ahn Se-young, also lifted the championship trophy in the first competition of the new year.
World No. 1 men’s doubles Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim defeated the second-place home court pair of Aaron Chia and So Yu-ik (Malaysia) 2-1 in the final.
The Korean group, who scored four consecutive points in the first game tied at 5-5, easily took the lead with a score of 21-15.
However, the atmosphere took a sharp turn in the second game. Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who were pushed back by the Malaysian group’s calm offensive, were dragged around the entire time without any chance to catch up and lost the game by 9 points, 12-21.
The Korean group showed their concentration again in the third game, which became a watershed for the game.
Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who gained momentum by winning 4 points in a 1-1 situation, entered the interval with an 11-5 lead.
At the end of the game, the Malaysian group was in danger as they trailed at 19-18, but Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho did not waver and maintained their lead until the end, confirming their victory with 21-18.
The women’s doubles world rankings No. 6 Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) lost 0-2 (18-21 12-21) to the world No. 1 Ryu Seong-su and Tanning (China) pair in the final, taking second place.
The two teams faced each other in the semifinals of the badminton ‘King of Kings’ World Tour Finals held last month.
At that time, Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee won, setting the stage for their second consecutive victory in the tournament, but on this day, they suffered a blow to the Chinese group that came out with their battle lines in order, so they swallowed their disappointment.
Seo Seung-jae, Kim Won-ho, Baek Hana, and Lee So-hee will also participate in the Indian Open, which opens on the 13th, along with Ahn Se-young, and once again go on the hunt for medals.
coup@yna.co.kr
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Sent on January 11, 2026 at 19:13
