Ahn Se-young: New Badminton World Order | China Reacts

(MHN Reporter Lee Hyun-ah) China is already evaluating the footsteps of Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) as an ‘overwhelming era.’

On the 18th (Korean time), Ahn Se-young, No. 1 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) world rankings, once again lifted the championship trophy at the 2026 India Open, recording 30 consecutive wins across seasons.

In response to this, on the same day, Chinese media Tencent Sports said, “The landscape of women’s singles has completely changed,” and seemed to be formalizing the opening of the ‘Ahn Se-young era.’

‘The New Indian Express’, a local Indian media outlet cited by Chinese media, interviewed world-class players who faced Ahn Se-young after this tournament and focused on ‘what kind of presence Ahn Se-young is to her opponents.’

The person who attracted the most attention was Inthanon (31), a Thai veteran and former world No. 1. Intanon faced Ahn Se-young in the semifinals, but lost 0-2 (11-21, 7-21) in just 32 minutes. After the game, he confessed, “Ahn Se-young plays the game in a completely different way when he plays against me and when he plays against other players,” and “I couldn’t keep up with that speed. If I tried to increase the tempo, it only led to more mistakes.”

Intanon especially commented, “The current match with Ahn Se-young feels like learning badminton from scratch,” and added, “The method of understanding the game brought by existing women’s singles players no longer works.”

Canadian-Chinese player Li Wei-san (35) also shook his head and acknowledged Ahn Se-young’s presence. He said, “No matter how great your physical strength is, you cannot beat Ahn Se-young if you do not have perfect mental strength and concentration.”

Gilmour (33), a world-class player from Scotland, also praised Ahn Se-young, saying, “Ahn Se-young is an unbelievably outstanding player. She may be a genius who only appears once in an era. It is even more surprising that she is only 23 years old.”

The response from Chinese netizens is also impressive. One Chinese fan said, “The Ahn Se-young era is a great stimulus to the coaches and players of the Chinese national team. Even Wang Zhiyi, who can be said to be the pinnacle of Chinese women’s singles, has a clear gap. It is also very wide. Now we have no choice but to acknowledge and respect it.”

Chinese media summarized these reactions and concluded, “Ahn Se-young is not just a strong player, but a player who is changing the standards of women’s badminton itself.”

Photo = Yonhap News, Inthanon SNS, MHN DB