*This content was translated by AI.
Praise poured out towards "The Empress" Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance).
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young defeated world No. 2 Wang Zhii (China) 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the women's singles final of the "2026 BWF World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open" held at Asiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th (Korea time).
Ahn Se-young, who won her first competition of the year, got off to a good start to the new year. In addition, he succeeded in defending the title this year following 2024 and 2025, winning three consecutive tournaments.
Ahn Se-young continued his overwhelming advantage against Wang Zhi with 17 wins and 4 losses in his career. Bada won all eight matches last year.
Last year, Ahn was unbeatable. He had the best year in a single season with the most wins (11 wins), the highest winning percentage (94.8%, 73 wins, 4 losses), and more than $1 million ($1,017) in cumulative prize money.
Ahn finished the match in just 56 minutes. Ahn Se-young, who won one game, fell sharply to 9-17 in the middle of the second game, but the attack revived and narrowed the score to tie the score 19-19. After that, he won after three close deuce matches.
After the game, local media in Malaysia poured out praise. "Se-young Ahn proved that she is the undisputed badminton empress," The Star said.
"Ahn deserves to be on par with legendary players," he said, adding, "Tai Zhi Ying (Taiwan) tied the record of three consecutive Malaysian Open losses achieved in 2017-2019."
Ahn Se-young's eyes are on the Grand Slam. Having already won the World Championships, Asian Games and Olympics, he will achieve the second milestone after Carolina Marin (Spain) if he only adds the Asian Championships trophy in April. Then, at the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September, he will hunt for his second consecutive victory in the tournament.
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*This content was translated by AI.
