"A Challenge to An Se-young" Japan's Gunji Riko, but in the actual match, she was held to 7 and 13 points... 'Queen of Badminton' wins in 37 minutes with her 53rd consecutive victory

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The wall of An Se-young (Samsung Life), ranked No. 1 in the world, was indeed high. Japanese badminton prospect Gunji Riko set out for the Korea Open with the goal of facing An Se-young, but suffered a decisive defeat in their actual matchup.

On the 6th, at the Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, An Se-young crushed Gunji (Japan, ranked No. 20 in the world) 2-0 (21-7, 21-13) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500).

With this, An Se-young has reached a streak of 53 consecutive wins and advanced to the semifinals. Her record for this season is 69 wins and 1 loss in 70 matches, with a winning percentage of 98.57%.

In fact, Gunji's team had been paying close attention to the matchup against An Se-young, the 'Queen of Badminton,' even before the tournament began.

Gunji's team, the Japan Saijun Kan Pharmaceutical badminton team, previously explained regarding Gunji's participation in the Korea Open, "If she advances to the quarterfinals as expected, she is projected to face An Se-young, who is ranked No. 1 in the world."

They further emphasized, "First, we will do our best to win decisively in the first and second rounds so that we can challenge An Se-young."

Saijun Kan Pharmaceutical is a team featuring Gunji, as well as Yamauchi Akane, ranked No. 2 in the world, and Akechi Hina, ranked No. 16 in the world. Yamauchi and Akechi have advanced to the semifinals of this Korea Open.

Indeed, Gunji made it through the round of 32 and the round of 16, securing a matchup with An Se-young. In the round of 16 held on the 5th, she won 2-1 after a closely contested 67-minute match against Dong Qutong from Taiwan.

However, she could not put up much resistance against An Se-young, who is ranked No. 1 in the world. On this day, An Se-young was trailing 3-5 early in the first game but immediately launched a counterattack. She scored five consecutive points to take the lead 8-5, and while leading 10-7, she racked up an impressive 11 straight points. Without giving Gunji a single point, she closed out the first game 21-7.

The second game followed a similar flow. An Se-young scored four consecutive points from a 3-2 lead to pull ahead 7-2. Although Gunji attempted a comeback, it was not enough to break through An Se-young's stable defense and sharp attacks.

Ultimately, An Se-young took the second game 21-13, concluding the match in just 37 minutes.

For Gunji, it was another match where she felt the height of An Se-young's wall. Last year, after losing to An Se-young, Gunji acknowledged the difference in skill, stating, "She does not give up points easily, and every rally is intense. It made it difficult for me to play the way I wanted."

At that time, she also mentioned An Se-young's outstanding defensive skills. Gunji reflected, "Even shots hit confidently from good positions were well returned. As a result, there were many situations where I gradually became more struggling."

She then added, "Exchanging shuttles with player An Se-young, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, was a great gain for me."

Gunji got another chance to face An Se-young after about a year, but the result did not change. This time, she managed to score only 20 points across two games and bowed her head once again.

An Se-young is continuing to show dominant performance in this tournament. After defeating Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bulgaria) 2-0 (21-6, 21-8) in the round of 32, she also beat Karupathevan Letchana (Malaysia) 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) in the round of 16. Including this match against Gunji, she has advanced to the semifinals without dropping a single game.

An Se-young is aiming for her 11th title of the season at this tournament. She has already achieved 10 wins this season by topping the podium at the Malaysia Open, India Open, Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, World Championships, China Masters, Asian Games, Denmark Open, and France Open.

If she wins this Korea Open as well, she will achieve her 11th win of the season for the second consecutive year, following last year. She will also set a record for her third career Korea Open title, following her victories in 2022 and 2023.

Coincidentally, An Se-young's semifinal opponent is Akechi, a teammate of Gunji from the same club. Akechi defeated Miyazaki Tomoka, another Japanese player ranked No. 7 in the world, 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Following her match against Gunji, An Se-young will challenge for a spot in the final against another player from Saijun Kan Pharmaceutical.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original