"She is Bulgaria's flagship player, yet she managed only a combined 14 points across two games against An Se-young." The overwhelming dominance of the world No. 1... Local media also highlight "four straight losses"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

'Queen of Badminton' An Se-young (24, Samsung Life) once again showcased her dominant performance. Even the flagship player of Bulgarian women's badminton managed to score only 14 points across two games. Local Bulgarian media also reported the decisive defeat of their country's player.

World No. 1 An Se-young comprehensively defeated Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bulgaria) 2-0 (21-6, 21-8) in the women's singles round of 32 at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500), held on the 4th at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.

It took An Se-young just 39 minutes to secure the victory. With this, An advanced to the round of 16, taking the first step toward her 11th title of the season.

After the match, local Bulgarian media also focused on An's overwhelming win. The Bulgarian outlet BNR reported that day, "Kaloyana Nalbantova, the flagship star of Bulgarian women's badminton, was eliminated in her first match at the Super 500 tournament held in Yeosu, South Korea."

It continued, "Nalbantova lost to An Se-young, who is the No. 1 seed and world No. 1 in this tournament," explaining, "An Se-young, a player representing the host country and an Olympic and World Championship champion, defeated Nalbantova 21-6, 21-8."

With this, An has recorded four straight wins against Nalbantova in their head-to-head record. The outlet also noted, "Nalbantova suffered her fourth loss to An Se-young, whom she first faced at the 2024 Paris Olympics."

For Nalbantova, she had to feel the high wall of the world No. 1 once again this time. The point differential was also overwhelming. An took control from the start of the first game by scoring six consecutive points. She then won eight straight points while leading 13-6 to close out the first game.

The one-sided flow continued in the second game as well. An dominated her opponent, taking a lead of 12-1 at one point. Nalbantova attempted a comeback but was blocked by An's stable defense and offense, ultimately managing only eight points.

In the end, the total number of points Nalbantova scored across two games was just 14. An did not relinquish control throughout the match and easily wrapped up her first game.

An's upward momentum has continued throughout this year. An reached the top of the French Open (Super 750) on the 25th of last month, achieving her 10th title of the season. At the same time, she set records for winning five consecutive tournaments and reaching the top of an international tournament for the 48th time in her career.

With this victory, her winning streak has extended to 51 matches. An has not lost a single match since losing to Wang Zhiyi (China) in the All England Open final in March last year. Her record this year is 67 wins and 1 loss in 68 matches, with a win rate reaching as high as 98.5%.

There were also concerns about physical burden due to consecutive recent tournament appearances. An deliberated on whether to participate in the Korea Open but decided to play in front of domestic fans. And she repaid the fans' support with an overwhelming victory from her first match.

Now, An's gaze is directed toward her 11th title of the season. If she conquers this Korea Open as well, she will achieve 11 tournament wins for two consecutive seasons, reaching a tie for the single-season record for most titles.

An previously reached the top of the Korea Open in 2022 and 2023. This time, she challenges two goals: her third career Korea Open title and her 11th win of the season.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original