"As expected, the world's strongest." "Grand Slam" is right around the corner... Overwhelming final → 'Only one win' left

*This content was translated by AI.

It is the overwhelming class of the world's No. 1 ranking. Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) has only one game left before retaking the top of the Asian Championship and achieving the long-cherished Grand Slam.

Ahn Se-young defeated her junior Shim Yu-jin (15th at Incheon International Airport) 2-0 (21-14, 21-9) in the semifinals of the women's singles at the 2026 Asian Badminton Championships held at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center in China on the 11th (Korea time). As a result, Ahn Se-young will take the final stage of the tournament for the first time in three years since 2023, when she finished second.

There is only one game left until the milestone of the Badminton Empress. Ahn has already won the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Asian Games in succession. The Grand Slam will be completed with just the addition of this tournament's trophy, Asia's most prestigious. At the Asian Championship, which has a status equivalent to that of the BWF Super 1000 class competition, Ahn Se-young has consistently reached the podium, including bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023, but she has not been able to reach the gold medal.

The beginning of the first game was tight. Ahn Se-young took the lead by scoring five consecutive points in an instant with his unique stable operation and diagonal attack in a 10-10 match.

He did not let go of the flow he once caught. Ahn Se-young drove up the momentum and scored as many as 10 points at the start of the second game. Shim Yu-jin struggled to prevent Ahn's elaborate hairpins and offensives, and eventually Ahn sealed a complete victory in 36 minutes.

The final match of fate is Wang Zhiyi (China), the world's second-ranked player. Ahn Se-young lost to Wang Zhi in the final of the previous tournament, the Jeon Young Open, and her streak of 36 consecutive wins in the official tournament was suspended. Although there are recent losses, Ahn Se-young has an overwhelming advantage with 18 wins and 5 losses in his career.

Meanwhile, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life Insurance), the world's No. 1 men's doubles player, also advanced to the final by beating China's Hur Ji-ting and Ren Xiang Yu 2-0 (21-13, 22-20). Those who showed off their perfect ability to not give up a single game will go on a hunt for three wins this season in this competition.

In the mixed doubles, the group Kim Jae-hyun (Yonex) and Jang Ha-jung (Incheon International Airport), ranked 147th in the world, won the championship. He was scheduled to face his final opponent Dechapol Poabaranukro-Sufisara Paesampranjo (Thailand), but his opponent withdrew due to injury.

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*This content was translated by AI.