'An Se-young's Overwhelming Early Dominance' Badminton Women's Team Defeats Malaysia 3-1, Secures 'Korea-Japan Semi-Final Matchup' [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean women's Bae Deu-min-teon (CEO) team took its first step toward back-to-back Asian Games titles.

On the 22nd, South Korea defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the women's team badminton quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium, Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having advanced to the semifinals, South Korea will face Japan, which defeated India, on the 23rd at the same venue in a battle for a spot in the final.

Badminton team matches consist of five games alternating between singles and doubles. The first team to win three games is declared the winner.

An Se-young (Samsung Life), known as the "world's strongest," who started as the first singles player, dominated her opponent without any upset and secured an early advantage.

Facing Leachana Karupatheban, ranked 28th in the world, An Se-young won the first game 21-12 in just 16 minutes and then comfortably took the second game 21-8.

However, the pair of Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee (both from Incheon International Airport), ranked 2nd in the world and competing in the second doubles match, were defeated 0-2 (20-22, 17-21) by the pair of Pearly Tan and Thina Muralitharan, ranked 5th in the world.

Fortunately, Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life), who competed in the third singles match, secured a straight-set victory 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) against Wong Ling Ching, ranked 38th in the world, immediately shifting the momentum.

The pair of Kim Hye-jung (Samsung Life) and Jeong Na-eun (Incheon International Airport), who competed in the fourth doubles match, also secured a comeback victory 2-1 (18-21, 21-11, 24-22) against the duo of Zui Low and Qing Shuiren, putting an end to the match.

The South Korean women's badminton team claimed the team title at the 2022 Hangzhou Games and is now aiming for back-to-back championships in this tournament.

An Se-young is challenging for a second consecutive double crown, both in the team event and the women's singles individual competition. Notably, her bid for back-to-back titles in the women's singles individual event marks the first such attempt by a South Korean player.

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*This content was translated by AI.