"An Se-young is the 'Great Demon King'; no one can stop her," foreign media also marvels... Three-peat within reach, return match with Yamaguchi

*This content was translated by AI.

Foreign media also expressed amazement at the overwhelming surge of 'Badminton Empress' An Se-young (Samsung Life).

World No. 1 An Se-young decisively defeated World No. 12 Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life) 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour China Masters (Super 750), held on the 4th in Shenzhen, China.

The match lasted only 37 minutes.

Although they were teammates facing off as seniors and juniors, they were cold on the court. An Se-young allowed just 11 points to Kim Ga-eun in the first game and held her to 10 points in the second game, easily securing a ticket to the semifinals.

An Se-young's unstoppable momentum is also drawing attention overseas.

Malaysian Chinese-language media Sing Tao Daily reported on An Se-young's advance to the quarterfinals, stating, "No one can stop the momentum of South Korea's world No. 1 'Great Demon King' An Se-young."

It continued, "An Se-young defeated fellow Korean Kim Ga-eun in a domestic matchup to achieve a 31-game winning streak. Her march toward a three-peat at this tournament continues," highlighting that "An Se-young has not lost a single match since finishing as runner-up at the All England Open last March."

It further emphasized, "An Se-young is currently on an incredible 31-game winning streak," noting her record for this season stands at 47 wins and 1 loss.

In fact, An Se-young's performance in this tournament has been overwhelming.

In the round of 32, she dominated World No. 17 Lin Xiangti (Taiwan) 2-0 (21-11, 21-3). In particular, she allowed just 3 points to her opponent in the second game.

In the round of 16, she also defeated China's promising player Han Chenxi (World No. 33) 2-0 (21-14, 21-7). She then overcame Kim Ga-eun without dropping a single game to advance to the semifinals.

An Se-young won the women's singles title at the China Masters in both 2024 and last year, achieving a two-peat at this event. Now, only two matches stand between her and a three-peat.

In the semifinals, she will face familiar rival Yamaguchi Akane (Japan, World No. 3). Yamaguchi defeated Thailand's Supanida Katethong 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) in the quarterfinals to reach the semi-finals.

For both players, this is a vivid 'return match' with recent memories fresh in mind.

An Se-young and Yamaguchi met in the women's singles final of the World Championships held last month in New Delhi, India. At that time, An Se-young defeated Yamaguchi 2-0 to claim the title. An Se-young won the championship with a flawless performance, not dropping a single game throughout the entire World Championships.

An Se-young also leads in their head-to-head record. The two players have faced each other 35 times so far, with An Se-young holding an advantage at 20 wins and 15 losses.

The recent trend is even more definitive. An Se-young has won six consecutive matches against Yamaguchi from the Denmark Open last October through the World Championships final last month.

This time, they will face off again in Shenzhen, China, for a ticket to the final.

In the other semifinal, World No. 2 Wang Zhiyi (China) and Tomoka Miyazaki (Japan) will clash. If An Se-young and Wang Zhiyi each win their respective semifinals, a big match between the world's top two ranked players will take place in the final.

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

*This content was translated by AI.