'First-ever three-peat makes history,' An Se-young says, "I am so proud of myself... I am very happy" — Overflowing with emotion after the championship victory

*This content was translated by AI.

Her post-victory remarks were equally world-class. Achieving back-to-back perfect wins without dropping a single set and completing the historic feat of three consecutive titles at the China Masters, the world's top-ranked player An Se-young (24, Samsung Life) expressed deep pride in herself while vowing not to become complacent despite fierce challenges from rising newcomers.

According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), immediately after winning the women's singles title at the 2026 BWF World Tour Super 750 China Masters held in Shenzhen, China on the 6th (Korea time), An Se-young said, "I am so proud of myself. I am truly satisfied with the result and very happy," sharing her overflowing emotions.

In today's final, An Se-young defeated Japan's 20-year-old top prospect Tomoka Miyazaki (world No. 9) in just 45 minutes with a decisive 2-0 scoreline (21-17, 21-6).

With this victory, An Se-young became the first player in tournament history to win three consecutive titles. She also extended her all-time head-to-head record against Miyazaki to eight wins without a single loss. Notably, she did not allow even a single game throughout this tournament and displayed overwhelming dominance by holding all opponents she faced through the final to 28 points or fewer per match.

While An Se-young is aiming to break her personal record of 11 individual titles set last year, she remains vigilant against challenges from up-and-coming juniors. "Many players are rising and continuing to challenge me," she emphasized. "No match should ever be taken lightly. I must constantly strive for self-improvement and identify areas for refinement."

Regarding Miyazaki's fierce play in the early stages of the first game, An Se-young explained, "Miyazaki applied strong pressure, which left me a bit flustered at times," but added, "However, I focused on maintaining my own pace without rushing and staying calm."

This marks her second consecutive tournament victory without dropping a set, following the World Championships last month. At the World Championships, An Se-young did not concede a single game from the Round of 64 through to the final. Similarly, in this tournament, she completed her run from the Round of 32 to the final without losing a single game. By achieving three consecutive titles at this event, An Se-young tied the all-time record for most titles with China's Tian Wei-fei.

Today's final was An Se-young's 50th match of the season. With this win, she improved her season record to 49 wins and 1 loss, reaching an astonishing win rate of 98%. In individual events alone this season, she claimed titles at seven tournaments: starting with the Malaysia Open (Super 1000) and India Open (Super 750), followed by the Asian Championships, Singapore Open (Super 750), Indonesia Open (Super 1000), World Championships, and China Masters. Including team events—the Asian Team Championships and the Uber Cup (World Women's Team Championships)—she has collected a total of nine championship trophies this year.

Having showcased her dominance at the pinnacle with an incredible pace, An Se-young will immediately return to Korea. After attending the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Media Day held on the 8th at the Chungbuk Jincheon Athlete Village, she will depart for Japan, the venue of the decisive competition, to challenge for the first-ever back-to-back Asian Games women's singles titles in Korean history.

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*This content was translated by AI.