‘World’s Strongest’ Ahn Se-young is just two steps away from becoming the first Korean singles player to win two consecutive games at the All England Open, the most prestigious badminton tournament.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, defeated Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani 2-0 (21-11 21-14) in 39 minutes in the quarterfinals of the 2026 All England Open held in Birmingham yesterday (6th).
Ahn Se-young, who has not lost once since losing in the Korea Open final in September last year, extended her winning streak from the Denmark Open last October to ’35 games’.
At 2:50 a.m. on the 8th, Korean time, Ahn Se-young competed against China’s Chen Yu-fei, who is Cheon Cheok, to advance to the semifinals.
Ahn Se-young and Chen Yu-fei’s head-to-head record is tied at 14 wins and 14 losses.
However, Ahn Se-young defeated Chen Yu-fei 2-1 in the semifinals of the French Open in October last year, the most recent match, and lifted the trophy.
Meanwhile, Ahn Se-young will attempt to become the first Korean badminton singles player to win two consecutive championships in this tournament.
At the All England Open, which started in 1899 and is now in its 116th year, there have been instances of legendary doubles stars such as Park Joo-bong, Chung Myung-hee, and Gil Young-ah winning consecutive titles, but there has never been a singles player on the podium for two consecutive years.
Ahn Se-young defeated Chen Yu-fei in 2023 and became the first Korean women’s singles player to win the All England Open trophy in 27 years since Bang Bang-hyun. After reaching the semifinals in 2024, she defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi again last year to regain the top spot.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23
Park Ji-eun (run@yna.co.kr)
The moments you capture are news!
ⓒYonhap News TV, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution, AI learning and use prohibited
