Indian Open: Korean Players Secure Semifinal Spots & Medals

[스포츠동아 권재민 기자] The national badminton team secured at least three bronze medals in women’s singles, women’s doubles, and men’s doubles at the India Open 2026. Since there is no bronze medal match in this competition, a bronze medal will be awarded even if a player only reaches the semifinals.

Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance, No. 1 in the world rankings) won a complete victory over Putri Kusuma Wardani (Indonesia, No. 6) with a game score of 2-0 (21-16 21-8) in the women’s singles quarterfinals on the 4th day of the tournament held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in India on the 16th (Korean time). As a result, Ahn Se-young continued his overwhelming lead over Wardani with 8 consecutive wins and continued his cruise to his second consecutive victory in the tournament.

Ahn Se-young was strong in the game. At 11-11 in Game 1, his unique stroke came to life and he scored 3 points one after another. As Wardani trailed at 15-13, they scored three consecutive points again to take the win. In game 2, he ran away with 4 consecutive points at 5-4 with his unique course strategy, and then at 13-8, he completely destroyed Wardani with 8 consecutive points. Ahn Se-young will play the semifinals against Ratchanok Inthanon (Thailand, 8th place) at the same venue the next day. The head-to-head record between Ahn Se-young and Intanon is Ahn Se-young’s 12 wins and 1 loss.

Women’s doubles Lee So-hee (32) and Baek Hana (26, Incheon International Airport, 5th place) also announced victory. They won 2-0 (21-19 21-9) against Shu Ya-Ching and Sheng Yu-Shuang (Taiwan, 18th) held at the same venue. Lee So-hee and Baek Hana were facing opponents for the first time and were unable to use their strength as they were dragged down 10-15 in the first game. However, Baek Hana’s unique fast forward play and Lee So-hee’s powerful back-end smash came to life and turned the game around. After chasing with 3 consecutive points at 12-16, they achieved a great comeback by scoring 5 consecutive points at 16-19.

In the second game, where the team gained momentum, they scored 5 consecutive points right from the start, and ended the game by scoring 5 points in a row at 15-7. Their opponents in the semifinals the next day are Ryu Seong-su and Tanning (China, 1st place). Their head-to-head record is tight at 6 wins and 7 losses, but they have often been caught by Ryu Seong-soo and Tanning in major international competitions, such as the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Men’s doubles Kang Min-hyuk (27, Armed Forces Athletic Corps) and Ki Dong-ju (26, Incheon International Airport, 19th place) also won a ticket to the semifinals by defeating 2021 World Championship gold medalists Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (Japan, 9th place) in the quarterfinals of the tournament by 2-1 (21-18 14-21 21-18). Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju ended the long game by scoring three consecutive points in game three, 18-18. The two will face the winners of the Paris Olympics silver medalists Liang Wei-Kheng – Wang Chang (China, 5th place) and Man Wei-chong – Kaiun Ti (Malaysia, 6th place) in the semifinals.

Reporter Kwon Jae-min [email protected]