"The world's first historical milestone at the age of 24" Ahn Se-young overwhelms "GOAT Force"... "I finally did it"

*This content was translated by AI.

The world's praise is pouring in for Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), who achieved the long-awaited grand slam. With unprecedented achievements in badminton history, it is already in the ranks of the best player (GOAT) of all time.

Ahn Se-young, the world No. 1 in women's singles, beat Wang Zhiyi (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 (Korea time).

I even did the last puzzle for my all-time career. Ahn Se-young's silver medal in 2023 was the best performance in the tournament and had no connection to the tournament, including elimination from the quarterfinals in 2024 and missing last year's injury, but this victory completed the Grand Slam following the Olympics, the World Championship, and the Asian Games. He also achieved career Grand Slams including the World Tour Finals and the Jeon Young Open. This is the first record for a female singles player.

Putting together local reports, Ahn Se-young said shortly after the match, "Since arriving in Ningbo, many people have said that winning the Asian Championship is the last piece of the Grand Slam," adding, "I'm happy to finally say I did it." "It was a very tough game. The opponent was also tired, and it was a long game, but I was able to win thanks to the support of Korean fans," he added.

The world's media and major organizations poured out praise in unison. "Ahn Se-young achieved a historic career sweep," the official Olympic channel said. "She is the first female singles player in badminton history to win all major titles at the age of 24." The BWF (World Badminton Federation) also praised Ahn Se-young, saying, "In a fierce game, Ahn avenged the loss of the All-English Open to Wang Zhi and won the championship."

China was also surprised by Ahn Se-young's grand slam. "After a long wait, Ahn Se-young was honored to win the Asian Championship," Xinhua News Agency said. "China Daily Asia" explained, "An Se-young finally filled the void in her professional career with her victory in Ningbo," adding, "An Se-young, who already has a world championship and four BWF World Tour Super 1000 titles, finally got the Asian Championship trophy."

As Ahn Se-young mentioned, the final match was a 100-minute battle. Ahn Se-young pushed Wang Zhi with strategic management from the beginning of the game. He chose a strategy to consume the opponent's physical strength rather than unreasonable attack, and Wang Zhi, who played in the semifinals for nearly an hour the previous day, was helpless.

In the first game, Ahn Se-young took the lead from the 7-7 situation and won the game lightly 21-12. However, in the second game, Wang Zhi ran to 8-2 with the support of home fans on his back, and Ahn Se-young chased to 13-11, but eventually allowed a set score tie. In particular, Ahn Se-young had to continue the game after receiving first aid due to the bad news of bleeding in his knee during the defense process in the middle of the second game.

In the three games of fate, Ahn Se-young's concentration shone. Ahn Se-young drove Wang Zui from the beginning, widening the gap to 9-3 and 13-7. Wang Zhi-yi persistently chased after the 15-15 tie, but Ahn Se-young scored four consecutive points at the decisive moment to win the game. With this victory, Ahn Se-young avenged her defeat in the final of the Jeon Young Open last month, and at the same time widened her opponent's record with Wang Zhi to 19 wins and 5 losses.

Meanwhile, in addition to Ahn Se-young, South Korea's men's doubles Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae beat Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju to win the tournament. The mixed doubles Kim Jae-hyun and Jang Ha-jung also achieved overwhelming results, reaching the top.

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*This content was translated by AI.