Ahn Se-young: Qingdao Bid for First China Open Title | Badminton News

(MHN Reporter Lee Hyun-ah) The Chinese media predicted that Korea had a golden opportunity in a rare competition in which Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), the world’s No. 1 women’s badminton player, had not yet won.

According to the Chinese media ‘Sports Bongyun’ on the 2nd, Korea sent 10 men and women each, the strongest force it could have at the moment.

The women’s national team consists of Ahn Se-young, Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life Insurance), Lee So-hee, Baek Hana (Incheon International Airport), and the men’s team includes Kim Won-ho and Choi Ji-hoon (Samsung Life Insurance). Seungjae Seo (Samsung Life Insurance) cannot participate in this tournament due to injury.

The Korean national badminton team departed for Qingdao, China through Incheon International Airport on the 1st under the leadership of coach Park Joo-bong. The national team will participate in the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships to be held at Qingdao Guoxin Gymnasium starting on the 3rd. This is the sixth biennial competition to be held since the first competition was held in Hyderabad, India in 2016.

Korea set a clear goal of winning its first ever championship in this tournament. Korea has never reached the top of this competition. The men’s best result is a bronze medal (2016, 2018, 2022, 2024), and there is no experience of advancing to the finals. The women’s division’s best result is also a silver medal (2020, 2022).

Against this background, the Chinese media evaluated, “This tournament is a rare opportunity for Korea to break its long history of military non-existence.”

The power vacuum in China and Japan is cited as the key reason. The host country, China, excluded Ahn Se-young’s representative rivals from the women’s singles list, including Wang Zhiyi (world No. 2), Chen Yufei (world No. 4), and Han Wei (world No. 5). Switch, the world’s No. 1 men’s singles player, will also not participate. Japan will also be competing without some of its key players. Chinese media pointed out, “This composition realistically increased Korea’s chances of winning.”

However, China has not completely let go of its power. Along with the 178cm tall Gao Fangjie (ranked 11th in the world), Jaifan, a gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics and four-time World Championship winner, will compete in the women’s doubles in a new combination with Zhang Shuxian. Chinese media described this as “strongly in the nature of examining young players and experimenting with combinations.”

This competition is also special for Ahn Se-young personally. He showed overwhelming momentum at the beginning of the season by winning the Malaysia Open (Super 1000) and India Open (Super 750) in succession in January 2026. After taking a short break, he joins the national team and performs in the team competition. Chinese media commented, “Unlike the individual competition, the team competition is a more difficult fight because a loss in one match can change the entire flow,” adding, “For Ahn Se-young, this is the stage to challenge for her second team gold medal after winning the team gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.”

Additionally, if they reach the semifinals in this tournament, they can secure the right to participate in the Thomas Cup (men) and Uber Cup (women), which will open in Aarhus, Denmark in April. It is a competition where performance, symbolism, and practicality are all at stake.

Photo = Yonhap News, Ahn Se-young SNS