"I thought I had definitely broken her, but the shuttlecock kept coming back," Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan confesses... Even after defeating the world No. 2, the 'Queen' was different.

*This content was translated by AI.

Even a 20-year-old Japanese prodigy who had climbed to world No. 2 acknowledged the gap when facing 'Badminton Queen' An Se-young (Samsung Life).

On the 7th, the Japanese badminton specialist outlet Badminton Spirit reported on Tomoka Miyazaki (Japan), ranked world No. 9, who took runner-up honors in the women's singles at the 2026 BWF World Tour China Masters (Super 750).

Miyazaki surged forward to reach the final, including a 2-0 victory over China's top player and world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi in the semifinals.

But An Se-young proved to be an insurmountable wall.

On the 6th, at the women's singles final held in Shenzhen, China, An Se-young defeated Miyazaki with a game score of 2-0 (21-17, 21-6) to claim the title.

It was an overwhelming victory for An Se-young. In the first game, after narrowly leading 11-10, An scored four consecutive points to seize momentum. She then induced a critical error from her opponent and won the first game easily with a score of 21-17.

In the second game, the gap became even more pronounced.

An Se-young aggressively pressed Miyazaki from the start, scoring eight consecutive points early in the match and extending the lead to 11-1. Although Miyazaki attempted a comeback, it did not last long. An operated the match without any wavering and ultimately ended the contest with a score of 21-6.

After the match, Miyazaki honestly acknowledged the gap she felt when facing An Se-young.

She first stated, "I was truly happy to be on the final stage after a long time."

However, she also admitted, "I lost in the final and felt there was a very significant difference in the score."

When asked what specific aspects of An Se-young's game she found strong after facing her directly, Miyazaki provided an even more detailed response.

Miyazaki explained An's strengths by saying, "I thought I had definitely broken her, but the shuttlecock came back clearly," and added, "I also felt that her lobs were very fast."

Even at moments when she believed she could disrupt her opponent's balance to win a point, An Se-young returned the shuttlecock. She also quickly executed deep lobs to the back of the court, constantly forcing Miyazaki into the next play.

Interestingly, when describing her match against world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, she offered a completely different evaluation.

When asked what worked against Wang Zhiyi, Miyazaki confidently replied, "I believe my attacks and the defensive battles with my opponent went well."

In particular, at the moment of defeating world No. 2, Miyazaki roared louder than usual to express her emotions. Regarding this, she said, "It was a victory in the semifinals after a long time, and I was truly happy because I challenged an opponent I really wanted to beat and succeeded."

But soon after, world No. 1 An Se-young left Miyazaki feeling frustrated.

With this result, An Se-young maintained her advantage in the head-to-head record against Miyazaki. The two players have faced each other eight times, including the China Masters final, with all matches won by An Se-young.

Miyazaki is Japan's expected next-generation ace. She reached the pinnacle of the 2022 World Junior Championships as a first-year high school student and became the Japanese champion in the 2024 All-Japan Comprehensive Championships, the first time a high school student had achieved this in 10 years. In this tournament, she once again proved her competitiveness by defeating world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi.

But she was no match for world No. 1 An Se-young.

Miyazaki also stated, "I think I still need to further develop my strengths," and added, "I want to keep challenging myself by playing more matches against strong opponents."

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

*This content was translated by AI.