'Perfect Championship' An Se-young, Completely Dominates Japan's Yamaguchi... Crowned 'Unbeaten' World Champion at the World Championships

*This content was translated by AI.

This is the dignity of the world's strongest. 'Badminton Empress' An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), returning from injury, achieved a perfect championship with no sets lost at the World Championships, reclaiming the world champion throne for the first time in three years.

World No. 1 An Se-young defeated 'World No. 2 and defending champion' Yamaguchi Akane (Japan) in the women's singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships held at Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, India, on the 23rd (Korea time), winning in just 49 minutes with a game score of 2-0 (21-17, 21-14).

With this victory, An Se-young returned to the top of the World Championships for the first time in three years after becoming the first Korean woman to win a gold medal in singles at the 2023 Copenhagen tournament. Displaying overwhelming performance without losing a single set from the round of 64 to the final, she secured her second career world championship gold medal.

Earlier this year, An Se-young had already achieved a career Grand Slam (Asian Games, World Championships, Olympics, Asian Championships) by winning the Malaysia Open and Indonesia Open (both Super 1000), the India Open, and the Singapore Open (both Super 750), followed by an Asian Championship title in April. However, she recently faced setbacks due to a left foot injury, withdrawing from the Japan Open and skipping the China Open. Nevertheless, in her comeback match after about a month, she defeated Chinese players Han Wei and Wang Ziyi consecutively, then beat Yamaguchi in the final to demonstrate her continued dominance.

With today's victory, An Se-young extended her head-to-head record against Yamaguchi to 20 wins and 15 losses. Riding a six-match winning streak in recent encounters, she has firmly established herself as Yamaguchi's nemesis.

The first game saw an intense battle from the start. An Se-young led 11-8 at the first interval. However, Yamaguchi's persistent chase allowed her to take a 16-15 lead.

An Se-young's concentration shone in the crisis. From 16-17, she scored five consecutive points with sharp half smashes and incisive attacks, successfully taking control of the game at 21-17.

The second game began with Yamaguchi scoring three consecutive points. An Se-young immediately changed the momentum. With exquisite net shots and flawless defense, she turned the tide to lead 7-6, then extended her advantage to 11-7. Although Yamaguchi narrowed the gap to 11-10, An Se-young pulled ahead to 18-13 after a grueling rally battle, completely exhausting Yamaguchi's stamina. Having seized control, An Se-young ended the match 21-14 and celebrated by throwing her racket in triumph.

Having shed her injury and announced a perfect comeback, An Se-young is scheduled to compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opening on September 19 after completing the September early China Masters (Super 750) schedule. She aims to defend her titles in both women's singles and team events for consecutive championships.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.