[breaking news] "Ahn Se-young did it."' The long-awaited Grand Slam is achieved! A revenge battle for Wang Zhi → 'First win' at the Asian Championship

*This content was translated by AI.

There were no two defeats. Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), the world No. 1 badminton women's singles player, achieved the long-awaited "Grand Slam" by avenging the All-English Open against Wang Zhi (China, No. 2).

Ahn beat Wang Zhiyi 2-1 (21-12, 17-21, 21-18) in the women's singles final at the 2026 Asian Badminton Championships held at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center in China on the 12th.

With the victory, Ahn Se-young filled the 'last puzzle' of the Grand Slam by winning the gold medal at the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Asian Games, as well as the Asian Championships.

Ahn Se-young was not able to win the championship at the event, including bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023, then eliminated from the quarterfinals in 2024, and missed last year's injury.

In particular, the final opponent was Wang Zhi, who lost to Ahn in the final of the previous tournament, the Jeon Young Open, and Ahn immediately rose to the top with a fight for revenge. Wang Zhi and his all-time record was 19 wins and 5 losses.

Earlier, starting with Singapore's Yeo Ji-min (32nd) in the round of 32, An Se-young won the round of 16 Nguyen Tuirin (Vietnam, 26th), Miyazami Tomoka (Japan, 9th), and Shim Yu-jin (Incheon International Airport, 15th) in the round of 2 to reach the final.

While Ahn Se-young beat Shim Yu-jin in 36 minutes the previous day to reach the final, Wang Zi faced Akakane Yamaguchi (Japan, 4th place) after a close game of the full game for nearly an hour, so Ahn Se-young had a clear physical advantage.

In response, Ahn Se-young chose a strategy to run the game as stably as possible and seek the opponent's mistake rather than trying to forcefully attack from the beginning of the game. With an exquisite stroke, Wang Zui was trying to increase the physical burden by moving as much as possible.

The strategy worked properly. With the score tied 7-7 at the beginning of the first game, Ahn Se-young quickly began to widen the gap by winning four points. He responded to the opponent's willingness to chase by scoring four consecutive points once again, leading to a 15-8 run. Ahn Se-young, who took the lead, scored three consecutive points twice to win the first game 21-12.

In the second game, however, the gap widened to 2-8 in the beginning, causing the concentration to falter for a while. However, Ahn still bothered his opponent without using 100% speed. Wang Zhi, who gave up the score after a long rally, also breathed heavily with his back bent.

Ahn Se-young, who received first aid for bleeding due to his knee being swept in the defense process, scored three consecutive points at 7-12 and began to spark a chase. He also received applause from the crowd as he rolled up his opponent's strong smashing with a flying defense.

Unlike Ahn Se-young, Wang Zi's physical burden increased as he kneeled and bowed his head after the rally. An Se-young trailed 17-20 from a 14-20 deficit, but allowed the last game point and entered the final three games.

The last 3 games where the winner is at stake. Unlike the previous two games, Ahn Se-young widened the gap to 9-3 by driving Wang Zui from the beginning. In the midst of physical superiority, Ahn Se-young repeatedly destroyed Wang Zhi with strategic game management.

However, Wang Zhi, who was in a tight spot, also showed determination not to give up until the end, and Ahn Se-young's mistakes were repeated, allowing a 15-15 tie. However, Ahn Se-young's concentration, the 'world's strongest' ahead of the championship, was no longer shaken. After a fierce rally, Ahn Se-young took the lead again, winning three more points. Ahn Se-young, who even broke Wang Zhi's last-minute will to chase, enjoyed the moment of achieving the Grand Slam with a rough roar.

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*This content was translated by AI.