"Why does it have to be An Se-young again?" Nine consecutive early exits leave Malaysia in despair... Hoping for a turnaround in Korea, but facing the "Queen of Badminton" once more

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The "Queen of Badminton," An Se-young (Samsung Life), will compete in the Korea Open, challenging for her 11th title of the season in front of Korean fans. The opposing country has already expressed concern.

World No. 1 An Se-young is set to participate in the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500), which will be held from the 3rd to the 8th at the Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.

An Se-young will play her first match in the women's singles round of 32 against Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bulgaria, World No. 38) on the 3rd.

Previously, An Se-young dominated the French Open (Super 750) on the 25th of last month, achieving her 10th win of the season, her fifth consecutive title, and her 48th career victory in international tournaments. After a brief rest, An Se-young is once again aiming for the top spot.

While attention had focused on whether she would participate due to recent heavy scheduling, An Se-young decided to compete in the Korea Open. However, she has chosen not to participate in the Kumamoto Masters, which will be held in Japan starting from the 10th.

Malaysia is filled with worry over news of An Se-young's participation.

The Malaysian media outlet The Star reported that the country's women's badminton player K. Lachia said she "has performed poorly consecutively in recent European tournaments" and is "aiming for a turnaround at the upcoming Korea Open."

Lachia, ranked 27th in the world, bowed her head after consecutive first-round exits at last month's Denmark Open and French Open. Including these, she has recorded disappointing results with early eliminations in nine consecutive tournaments.

Lachia's last appearance in the quarterfinals was at the Malaysia Masters in late May of last year. Since then, she has struggled to find a turning point.

Kenneth Jonassen, the head singles coach for the Malaysian national team, also encouraged Lachia, saying, "Losing to players ranked higher than yourself is part of competition," and adding, "If you learn from every defeat, you can move forward."

However, another massive wall awaits Lachia. It is none other than World No. 1 An Se-young.

In the women's singles round of 32 at this Korea Open, Lachia will face Thailand's 18-year-old Tonluk Saeheng (World No. 68). The two players have not faced each other before, but Lachia leads in world ranking and experience.

The problem lies in what comes next. If Lachia passes her first match, there is a possibility she will face An Se-young in the round of 16. If An Se-young also wins in the round of 32, a matchup between the two players will be realized.

The Star also expressed concern about this draw. The outlet reported, "Unfortunately, Lachia could meet Korea's World No. 1 An Se-young in the second round."

In particular, Lachia has faced An Se-young four times in their career and lost all of them. She also knelt before An Se-young at last year's Korea Open.

The situation is even more burdensome this time. While Lachia needs to regain confidence after nine consecutive early eliminations, An Se-young continues an overwhelming upward trend.

The outlet introduced that "An Se-young is aiming for her third career Korea Open title, following her wins in 2022 and 2023."

If An Se-young wins this Korea Open, she will achieve 11 wins in the season, simultaneously matching the single-season record for most titles set by Momo Takahashi (Japan) in men's singles in 2019.

Furthermore, if An Se-young wins other tournaments in the remaining part of the season, she will set a new record for the most titles in a single season.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original