(Xports News Reporter Kim Hwan) Without Ahn Se-young, Chen Yu-fei is the king.
China’s Chen Yufei, considered Ahn Se-young’s ‘natural enemy’, won the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Indonesia Masters (Super 500) in which Ahn Se-young was missing and jumped to third place in the world rankings.
Chen Yufei won the 2026 BWF Indonesia Masters Women’s Singles final held at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 25th (Korean time) by defeating world number 36 Pichamon Opatnipus (Thailand) with a game score of 2-0 (23-21 21-13).
Pichamon, born in 2007, was ranked 9th in the world by Japan’s ‘Badminton Fairy’ Tomoka Miyazaki (Japan) in the round of 16. He was a promising player who was considered a dark horse in this tournament, but could not overcome the barrier of Chen Yufei, who had steadily gained experience on the world stage.
Chen Yufei struggled against Pichamon in the first game, continuing the game to deuce, but barely won the first game with a score of 23-21. Unlike game 1, Chen Yufei maintained the upper hand in game 2, easily widening the score gap and ending the game at 21-13. Chen Yufei finished the competition with a ‘perfect win’, not giving up a single game to her opponent throughout the competition.
This victory is Chen Yufei’s first Super 500 victory in her career.
For Chen Yufei, it was a victory that came with a bit of luck. This is because world rankings No. 1 to 3, An Se-young, Wang Zhiyi (China), and Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), all did not participate in the tournament, so it was literally Chen Yu-fei’s world.
Chen Yufei was able to manage her physical strength by reaching the finals with a landslide 2-0 win from the round of 32 to the semifinals. She gave it her all in the finals, defeating Thailand’s ‘Badminton Princess’ Peachamon and rose to the top.
Chen Yufei accumulated 9,200 ranking points by lifting the trophy at this year’s Indonesia Masters, surpassing Yamaguchi and rising to third place in the world rankings. Chen Yufei’s ranking point, which reflects his victory at the Indonesia Open, was 94,635 points, beating Yamaguchi (93,064 points) by 1,571 points to take third place.
However, it is evaluated that this victory was not very difficult for Chen Yufei because it was a tournament in which all players ranked 1st to 3rd in the world rankings were missing.
Top-ranked players in the world, including Se-young Ahn, participated in the Malaysia Open (Super 1000) and India Open (Super 750) held this month, but did not participate in the Indonesia Open that followed. It was a competition that was a chance for Chen Yufei to win.
In the end, Chen Yu-fei won the competition in which Ahn Se-young and other major competitors were missing, raising her world ranking by one level.
There is a possibility that Chen Yu-fei and An Se-young will clash at the 127-year-old All England Open (Super 1000) as early as March. If both maintain their current rankings, they will meet in the semifinals or finals.
Photo = Yonhap News / World Badminton Federation
Reporter Kim Hwan [email protected]
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