"An Se-young and Chen Yufei are no longer on the same level" — China acknowledges the overwhelming gap... After a crushing 5-21, 12-21 defeat, "The gap is widening even more" [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

World No. 1 in women's singles badminton An Se-young (Samsung Life) has just one victory left to secure the Asian Games gold medal. A new milestone — becoming the first Korean women's singles player to win back-to-back Asian Games titles — is now within reach.

On the 28th, An Se-young decisively defeated China's Chen Yufei (world No. 4) with a 2-0 scoreline (21-5, 21-12) in the women's singles semifinal at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The match lasted only 38 minutes.

It was a one-sided contest so lopsided that it seemed hard to believe this was a semifinal between world-class players.

From the first game, An Se-young relentlessly pressed Chen Yufei. She quickly built an early lead by scoring consecutive points, and as Chen struggled to find any opening, the score rapidly tilted in An's favor.

Ultimately, An Se-young easily won the first game 21-5.

In the second game, Chen Yufei held on a bit longer. She fought back to 6-6 early on, appearing to shift the momentum away from what happened in the first game.

But An Se-young remained unfazed.

She regained control, taking a 11-6 lead, and then used steady defense and sharp attacks to block Chen's comeback attempts. She ultimately secured the second game 21-12, confirming her place in the final.

With this victory, An Se-young extended her winning streak against Chen Yufei to five consecutive matches in their recent head-to-head encounters.

Their Asian Games rivalry continued. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held three years ago, An also defeated Chen Yufei in the women's singles final to claim the gold medal.

This time, meeting Chen again in the semifinals, An delivered an overwhelming performance to win, leaving just one match — the final — to defend her title.

Even China's current leadership is acknowledging the growing gap between the two players.

China's Sohu.com coldly assessed Chen's crushing defeat, stating, "The two players are clearly not on the same level in terms of performance."

The media noted that "Chen Yufei had a record of 14 wins and 17 losses against An Se-young prior to this match," but added that "the matches Chen won were concentrated in the early and middle stages when the two players first began facing each other."

It further pointed out, "Chen Yufei had already lost four consecutive matches to An Se-young before this game," and emphasized that "the gap between the two players has been widening in various aspects, including momentum and physical condition."

The result of this semifinal perfectly reflected these assessments. The media stressed, "An Se-young won both games with a large margin — 21-5 and 21-12," and reiterated that "the two players are clearly not on the same level in terms of current form."

China's shock did not end with Chen Yufei's elimination.

In another women's singles semifinal, Wang Zhiyi also fell to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 0-2 (11-21, 20-22).

Wang had previously defeated Yamaguchi in the women's team final, but the outcome was completely reversed in the individual semifinals.

As a result, China failed to send even one player to the women's singles final.

In contrast, An Se-young now has just one match left to win for the gold medal. Her opponent in the final will be Japan's top player, Akane Yamaguchi.

If An Se-young wins her last match, she will reclaim the Asian Games women's singles title, following her victory at the 2022 Hangzhou tournament. She will also become the first Korean women's singles badminton player to achieve back-to-back Asian Games gold medals, writing a new chapter in history.

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*This content was translated by AI.