'South Korea: Participate, Japan: Withdraw' — Foreign Media Take Note of An Se-young's Decision... "Grueling Schedule Since September, Taping on Knee and Calf"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

'Badminton Queen' An Se-young (24, Samsung Life) has decided to compete in the Korea Open held in South Korea, but will not participate in the Kumamoto Masters in Japan. Overseas media have also taken note of this decision.

World No. 1 An Se-young will compete in the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500), scheduled to take place from the 3rd to the 8th at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.

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

While attention had focused on whether she would compete due to a recent grueling schedule, An Se-young has decided to appear before domestic fans. Instead, she will not participate in the Kumamoto Masters (Super 500), which is scheduled to be held from the 10th to the 15th in Kumamoto, Japan.

An Se-young's name was also included on the list of withdrawals for the Kumamoto Masters announced by the BWF.

This news has attracted attention overseas as well. The Taiwanese media outlet Taisounds reported, "An Se-young is challenging for her 11th title of the season by competing in the Korea Open held in South Korea instead of withdrawing from the Japan Kumamoto Masters."

In particular, it highlighted that An Se-young has been dealing with physical strain while managing a tight schedule since last September.

Taisounds explained, "After winning the gold medal in women's singles at the Nagoya Asian Games in September last year, An Se-young moved to Europe and consecutively competed in the Denmark Open and France Open, winning both titles."

It added, "During this period, she experienced pain in her right Achilles tendon. In the France Open final, she took the court with taping on her right knee and calf."

Indeed, An Se-young has been continuing an intense schedule recently. After winning the gold medal in women's singles at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held in Japan last September, she crossed over to Europe and consecutively dominated the Denmark Open and France Open.

In particular, in the final of the France Open (Super 750) on the 25th of last month, she defeated Pusarla V. Sindhu (India) 2-1 to claim the top spot. It was her third consecutive title at the France Open and her 10th victory of the season. Simultaneously, she set a major record with five consecutive tournament wins and a 50-match winning streak.

Her performance this season is also remarkable. An Se-young has recorded an impressive 66 wins and 1 loss in 67 matches, boasting a win rate of 98.5%. She has not lost a single match since her defeat in the All England Open final in March last year.

However, the physical burden has grown due to continuous tournament participation. Despite concerns about her physical condition, An Se-young decided to compete in the Korea Open. Instead, by deciding not to participate in the Japanese event, she has secured time for rest.

Regarding this, the possibility of a fine has also been raised. Taisounds reported, "According to BWF regulations, An Se-young must participate in two Super 500 events per year," adding, "Since she has no record of participating in an event of that category yet this year, there is a possibility that a fine will be imposed due to her non-participation in the Kumamoto Masters."

Although the Korea Open is also of the same Super 500 category, if she participates only in this tournament, she will not fulfill the mandatory number of participations. However, there is also a possibility that she may be exempted from sanctions through evidence related to injury, among other things.

At this Korea Open, An Se-young will challenge for another major record before Korean fans.

An Se-young has already lifted the trophy 10 times this year. If she reaches the top at this Korea Open, she will achieve 11 wins in a season for the second consecutive year. She will once again match the single-season most titles record set by Japan's Kento Momota in men's singles in 2019.

In addition, if she adds more victories in other tournaments during the remaining season, she can even set a new record for the most titles in a single season.

An Se-young previously reached the top of the Korea Open in 2022 and 2023. In this tournament, she is aiming for her third career title.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original