'World's Strongest An Se-young's Country' Korea Defeated by Japan, But Fails to Regain Title... Suffering a 0-3 Complete Defeat Against China in the Final

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japanese badminton Yeo Ja (CEO) team, which had gained momentum by defeating South Korea, where world champion An Se-young stood firm, in the semifinals, failed to overcome the Great Wall of China and ultimately could not reclaim the title.

On the 24th, Japan suffered a complete 0-3 defeat against China in the women's team final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games badminton tournament held at Ichinomiya General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

As a result, Japan's challenge to win its second-ever team gold medal for the first time since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games ended with a silver medal.

Japan had been on a steep upward trajectory leading up to this final. After defeating India 3-1 in the quarterfinals, they pulled off an upset the previous day by beating South Korea, which was anchored by world champion An Se-young and the defending champion of the Hangzhou Games, 3-1, bringing them to the threshold of gold.

However, China's strength on the final stage proved overwhelming.

They suffered a painful defeat from the very first singles match. Yamaguchi Akane, Japan's ace and runner-up at last August's World Championships, faced Wang Ziyi (world No. 2) of China. After losing the first game, Yamaguchi fought back to win the second game 21-19 in a tight contest, leveling the match. However, she was overwhelmed by Wang Ziyi's fierce attacks in the third game and lost 17-21.

Japan was shaken after losing the first match in a full-game battle.

They failed to capitalize on comeback opportunities in the following first doubles match. The Fukushima Yuki-Matsumoto Mayu pair fought hard against the world No. 1 duo of Ryu Seung-soo and Tan Ning. After losing the first game, they surged ahead by as much as seven points in the second game, appearing to reset the match. However, China's fierce comeback forced a tie at 23-23 in a deuce battle, and Japan could not withstand consecutive powerful shots from their opponents, leading to their collapse.

With the match score at 0-2 and facing elimination, Japan brought up rookie Miyazaki Tomoka as the second singles player to attempt a turnaround, but they were unable to overcome the gap in strength and suffered a complete defeat.

After the match, Yamaguchi, who had lost as the first singles player, shed tears of regret. According to 'Nikkan Sports', Yamaguchi stated, "I'm not sure if I fulfilled my role as the first singles player, but this was a final where the entire team climbed step by step with individual victories."

Japan, which had received high expectations from home fans after defeating defending champion South Korea the previous day, ultimately could not win even a single match against China on the final stage and had to settle for second place.

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*This content was translated by AI.