Badminton Asia Team Championships
Doubles Baek Hana and Kim Hye-jeong also won
Singles Kim Ga-eun’s 3rd win, ‘period’
The Korean women’s badminton team, led by the world’s best player Ahn Se-young (pictured), defeated China and took the top spot in Asia. Korea won the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships for the first time in 10 years since the competition was launched.
The national team defeated China 3-0 in the women’s final of the tournament held at the Conson Gymnasium in Qingdao, China on the 8th. Ahn Se-young, who was the first runner, took the lead, and doubles Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong and singles Kim Ga-eun won in turn.
Ahn Se-young, who conserved her stamina by not competing in the semifinals the previous day, defeated Han Chen-xi (world No. 38) 2-0 (21-7 21-14) in 39 minutes in the first singles match. Ahn Se-young showed a clear difference in skill by winning 10 points in the first game tied 4-4. Game 2 was unexpectedly close until the middle, but the game ended with 6 consecutive points after 15-14.
In doubles, Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jung continued their momentum by defeating Ji Aifan and Zhang Shu-xianzhao 2-0 (24-22 21-8). Even though Baek Hana’s doubles partner Lee So-hee left the team due to injury during the tournament and a temporary group was formed, the team did not waver. They won a valuable victory in a deuce battle in game 1, and won easily in game 2 by pushing their opponents from the beginning.
Kim Ga-eun (17th), who played three singles games, defeated Xu Wenjing (127th) 2-1 (19-21 21-10 21-17) to get the third win needed to win the best-of-five series. Kim Ga-eun gave up the first game, but won the second and third games. From the middle of the third game, they widened the score gap and took the win. At 20-14, the ‘winning point’, he allowed three consecutive runs to catch up, but he delivered the final smash into the opponent’s court, giving the national team the win.
When Kim Ga-eun scored the last point, all the players on the national team ran onto the court and enjoyed the thrill of winning.
Korea had its best players, including Ahn Se-young, but China had second-tier players. In this tournament, China did not field its singles trio, including Wang Zhiyi (2nd place), Chen Yufei (3rd place), and Han Yue (5th place). We aimed for a reversal with new players at the forefront, but there were no surprises. Korea completely defeated China.
This is the first time that Korean badminton has reached the top at the Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Championships since the competition was founded in 2016. The women’s national team finished second in two consecutive competitions in 2020 and 2022, and the men’s national team’s best result was 3rd place.
The women’s team’s victory that day also repaid the debt owed to the men’s team. The men’s national team lost 2-3 to China in the semifinals the previous day. They won the first two games, but lost the next three games.
The Asian Team Championships also serve as the Asian qualifiers for the World Team Championships. By winning this tournament, the women’s national team has already secured the right to participate in the finals of the World Women’s Team Championship (Uber Cup) to be held in Denmark in April. The right to participate in the Uber Cup is given to teams that make it to the semifinals or higher. The men’s national team also advanced to the semifinals of the competition and qualified for the finals of the World Men’s Team Championship (Thomas Cup).
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