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Malaysian media were left speechless by the overwhelming dominance of An Se-young, the "Empress of Badminton" (Samsung Life). They acknowledged that a miracle would be required for their home player to defeat An.
World No. 1 An Se-young is set to face Malaysia's Karupathevan Letchana in the women's singles round of 16 at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500), which takes place on the 5th at the Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
Letchana defeated Thailand's Tonthanapong Saengam 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) in the round of 32 held on the 4th. The match lasted 47 minutes.
An Se-young also easily cleared her first hurdle. She secured a decisive 2-0 (21-6, 21-8) victory over Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova in just 39 minutes. She allowed a total of only 14 points to her opponent across the two games.
With this, the round-of-16 showdown between An Se-young and Letchana has been set. However, local media in Malaysia are already viewing the chances of their player winning as low.
Malaysian outlet The Star reported, "Letchana needs something special to end her long-standing failure to reach the quarterfinals at the Korea Open," adding that she "faces the difficult task of going up against the formidable opponent who is ranked No. 1 in the world, An Se-young."
In particular, the media compared the form of An Se-young and Letchana this season. The Star explained, "Letchana has failed to produce clear results in recent months. Since reaching the quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters in late May last year, she has failed to advance past the quarterfinal stage in nine consecutive tournaments."
It further analyzed, "The possibility of ending that slump this time does not look high," noting that "this is because South Korea's An Se-young is displaying a level of performance this season that is on a different dimension from other players."
Indeed, An Se-young continues her terrifying solo run this season. She reached the top of the podium at last month's French Open (Super 750) on the 25th, achieving her 10th title of the season.
At that time, she also set records for winning five consecutive tournaments and reaching the top of an international tournament for the 48th time in her career.
Her winning streak is also remarkable. An Se-young has not lost a single match since falling to Wang Zhiyi (China) in the All England Open final in March last year. With her victory in the round of 32 at this Korea Open, her winning streak has extended to an impressive 51 matches. Her record this season stands at 67 wins and 1 loss in 68 matches, with a win rate reaching 98.5%.
The Star also highlighted, "An Se-young is aiming for her 11th title of the season in front of her home crowd," adding that "An Se-young, who has stood atop the world championships twice, is showing an almost unstoppable form. Her last defeat was against Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March last year."
In their head-to-head record as well, An Se-young holds an overwhelming advantage. Letchana has faced An four times so far and lost all of them.
In particular, she suffered two defeats this year alone. She lost to An at the Asian Mixed Team Badminton Championships held in Qingdao, China, in February last year, and failed to avoid defeat in the women's team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September last year as well.
For Letchana, this Korea Open is a chance for revenge, but her opponent is simply too formidable. Malaysian media did not see a high possibility of an upset occurring.
If An Se-young reaches the top at this Korea Open, she will achieve 11 tournament titles in two consecutive seasons. Having previously won the Korea Open in 2022 and 2023, she is also challenging for her third title at this specific event in her career.
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
