'28-week dominance' Park Jeong-ah takes top spot again, but world champion An Se-young closes in... gap shrinks to less than half

*This content was translated by AI.

'Clutch Park' Park Jeong-ah (33, Korea Expressway Corporation) remains firmly atop her throne, now holding the number one spot for 28 consecutive weeks. However, the pursuit by 'Badminton Empress' An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), who has conquered the global stage, is gradually intensifying.

Park Jeong-ah earned the highest total of 8,002 votes in the StarRanking StarSports 62nd women's vote, which ran from 3:01 p.m. on August 27 to 3:00 p.m. on September 3, securing the top position.

With this result, Park Jeong-ah has maintained her number one title for an impressive 28 consecutive weeks since first rising to the top in the 35th vote. Over a period exceeding six months, she never relinquished the lead even once, reaffirming her unparalleled fanbase among female sports stars.

Notably, the current V-League is in its off-season. Park Jeong-ah, too, is focused on preparing for the new season rather than competing in actual matches. After returning to her original team, Korea Expressway Corporation, via a sign-and-trade deal three years ago, she has concentrated on weight training and physical conditioning. True to her status as a popular star who once drew fans to Gimcheon, she demonstrated an unbroken fan following even during the off-season.

However, the presence of second-place An Se-young is no less significant. An Se-young received 3,340 votes, maintaining second place for two consecutive weeks. This marks an increase of 684 votes from the previous 61st vote, which totaled 2,656 votes.

In terms of recent performance alone, she is undeniably the world's strongest player. An Se-young defeated world number two Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) with a decisive 2-0 scoreline in the women's singles final of the 2026 BWF World Championships held in New Delhi, India, on the 23rd. This victory marks her second world championship title, three years after her first win in 2023, and was achieved without losing a single set throughout the tournament—a 'clean sweep' victory.

Her momentum continued during the voting period. In the first round of the BWF World Tour China Masters women's singles, held in Shenzhen, China, starting on the 1st, An Se-young dominated world number 17 Ratchanok Intanon (Taiwan) in just 33 minutes with a 2-0 scoreline (21-11, 21-3). She then defeated Han Chen of China in another swift 39-minute match on the 3rd, also winning 2-0 (21-14, 21-7), advancing to the quarterfinals. While aiming for a third consecutive title at this tournament, she is building momentum ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opening on the 19th.

As a result, the gap between Park Jeong-ah and An Se-young has narrowed considerably. In the 61st vote, Park Jeong-ah received 13,111 votes while An Se-young garnered 2,656 votes, creating a difference of 10,455 votes. In this 62nd vote, with scores of 8,002 and 3,340 respectively, the gap has shrunk to just 4,662 votes. Within a single week, the margin has been reduced to less than half.

There was also a change in third place. 'Piyagi' Shin Yu-bin (22, Korean Air) received 1,458 votes, surpassing Kim Hee-jin (35, Hyundai Construction) to move up one spot from fourth to third. This represents an increase of 370 votes from her previous vote total of 1,088. Shin Yu-bin is once again drawing attention ahead of the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Shin Yu-bin, who won a gold medal in women's doubles and three bronze medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, will now challenge for back-to-back gold medals in mixed doubles alongside top-tier partner Lim Jong-hoon at this year's tournament. She also aims to compete for medals in women's singles, doubles, and team events.

Kim Hee-jin, who saw her ranking drop two consecutive weeks, finished fourth with 540 votes. Park Hyun-kyung (26, Mediheal), known as the 'Cute Girl' of women's golf, recorded fifth place with 367 votes.

StarRanking is a system where fans directly vote for their favorite stars via the StarNews website to determine rankings. Currently, female sports stars from various disciplines including volleyball, badminton, table tennis, basketball, golf, and short track are competing based on fan preferences.

The 63rd StarRanking women's sports vote will run from 3:01 p.m. on the 3rd until 3:00 p.m. on the 10th.

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*This content was translated by AI.