An Se-young won, but Korea lost! Women's badminton suffers a cruel setback from injuries as Japan comes back to win the women's team semi-final 3-1, leaving Korea with a bronze medal. [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

Despite the valiant efforts of ace An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), the Korean women's Bae Deu-min-teon (CEO) team lost to Japan and failed to achieve back-to-back Asian Games titles.

On the 23rd, Korea suffered a comeback defeat against Japan with a match score of 1-3 in the women's badminton team semi-final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture. Under tournament rules that do not include a third-place playoff, Korea secured the bronze medal. The challenge to win back-to-back gold medals following their victory at the 2022 Hangzhou Games was thwarted.

The absence of key players due to injuries proved painful. After doubles star Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank) was removed from the roster due to a knee injury, singles player Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life) also sat out due to thigh pain, preventing Korea from fielding its full-strength lineup.

The start was promising. World No. 1 An Se-young (Samsung Life), competing as the first singles player, defeated Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-9, 18-21, 21-11) to take an early lead. In the first game, An dominated with sharp diagonal attacks and secured a decisive 21-9 victory. The second game saw a tight contest ending at 18-18 before Yamaguchi gained the upper hand. However, in the third game, An regained her signature fast tempo, forced errors from her opponent, and closed out the match comfortably with a 21-11 win. With this victory, An extended her winning streak against Yamaguchi to eight consecutive matches.

However, Korea lost the next three matches in succession. The doubles pair of Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) fell to Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 0-2 (15-21, 19-21), leveling the match score at 1-1.

Next, Shim Yu-jin (Incheon International Airport) suffered a straight-game defeat against Tomoka Miyazaki 0-2 (15-21, 14-21), pushing Korea to the brink. The hastily assembled fourth doubles team of Kim Hye-jeong (Samsung Life) and Jeong Na-eun (Incheon International Airport) also collapsed against Kie Nakanishi and Rin Uesaka 0-2 (20-22, 16-21), ending their hopes of reaching the final.

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*This content was translated by AI.