Even the Chinese media cannot deny the extraordinary abilities of the ‘South Korean Badminton Queen’ An Se Young.
When An Se-young competed in her first tournament after reclaiming the World Champion title, Chinese media predicted that it would not be easy for Wang Zhiyi (China) to repeat the ‘miracle’ she achieved when she defeated Ahn Se-young at the All England Open (Super 1000) last March.
An Se Young ascended the throne by defeating Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 2-0 in the women’s singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships held at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, India, on the 23rd.
An, who became the first Korean singles player of any gender to win the World Championships at the 2023 tournament in Denmark, has won another gold medal after three years. Interestingly, he achieved a perfect win without dropping a single set during the six matches played in the tournament.
Previously, An Se-young beat Wang Ziyi 2-0 in the semifinals. An Se-young continued her dominance over Wang Ziyi, recording 13 wins and 1 loss in their last 14 matches.
An Se-young will return to the big tournament after resting for a week. He will compete in the BWF World Tour China Masters (Super 750), held in Shenzhen, China, from September 1 to 6.
This is a Super 750 level tournament, and for singles events, players ranked 1 to 15 in the world are required to participate.
In the match chart, An Se young and Wang Zhiyi are in opposite positions. Ahn Se-young is the number 1 seed, while Wang Zhiyi is the number 2 seed.
Given their opposite positions in the chart, if both players continue their winning streak, there is a high chance that Wang Zhiyi and An Se-young will face each other in the final.
Ahead of the tournament, Chinese media Sohusports analyzed the 2026 China Masters draw on the 29th, focusing on the title fight between Wang Zhiyi and Ahn Se-young.
The media predicted a fight between An Se-young and Wang Zhiyi as the most likely scenario in the final.
Regarding An Se young, the media stated, “He can reach the milestone of 100 consecutive weeks as the world’s No. 1 player after this year’s China Masters.” They further emphasized Ahn’s dominant performance, noting, “His record this year is 44 wins and 1 loss.”
At the same time, they again discussed the All England Open final, where Wang Zhiyi handed Ahn Sei-young his only defeat this year.
Recalling that match, they explained, “Wang Zhiyi ended Ahn Sei-young’s winning streak of 36 matches and also ended his losing streak of 10 matches at the hands of An Se-young.”
Indeed, the match in which Wang Zhiyi handed Ahn Sei-young his only defeat was the final of the All England Open in March this year.
At that time, world number 1 player An Se Young lost to Wang Zhiyi 0-2 (15-21, 19-21). His attempt to become the first Korean singles player to win consecutive All England Open titles failed.
Simultaneously, Ahn’s 36-match winning streak, which had continued since last year, was broken, and his 10-match winning streak against Wang Zhiyi was also broken.
For Wang Zhiyi, it was a very meaningful victory.
However, while the Chinese media viewed the victory as a very meaningful result, they view the current situation differently.
“But just one win at the All England Open cannot change the overall loss.” This is because Wang Zhiyi and Ahn have faced each other 25 times in their careers, with Wang far behind with a record of 5 wins and 20 losses.
Furthermore, the media assessed, “Ahn’s footwork is faster, his body is stronger, and his endurance is deeper,” adding, “For Wang Zhiyi to overcome this obstacle, he must show extraordinary performance every time.”
In particular, the media emphasized that An Se-young has a 4-1 lead in head-to-head matches between the two players this year. The only match Wang Zhiyi won was the final of the All England Open. An Se-young won in all finals: Malaysia Open (Super 1000) and India Open (Super 750) in January, Asian Championships in April, and BWF Women’s Team Championship (Uber Cup) in May.
The two players met again at the World Championships. In the semifinals, An Se Young beat Wang Zhiyi 2-0. Wang Zhiyi threatened Ahn again by leading 20-19 in the first game, but Ahn reversed the score to 24-22 before entering the second game, where he easily secured the victory.
Describing the situation at that time, Sohu.com stated, “The defeat is a realistic reflection of how the Chinese women’s singles team is currently facing Ahn Se-young.”
He added, “For Wang Zhiyi to repeat the ‘miracle’ at the All England Open, he needs a much more extraordinary performance.”
Article Tag: Akane Yamaguchi, Chen Yufei, An Se Young, Wang Zhiyi, China Masters 2026
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/jelang-china-masters-media-tiongkok-akui-akan-jual-kalahkan-an-se-young