World No. 1 women's badminton player Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) is finally rising to the status of the greatest player in history.
Ahn Se-young advanced to the final after crushing national team teammate Sim Yu-jin 2-0 (21-14, 21-9) in the semifinals of the 2026 Asia Badminton Championships women's singles at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center in China on the 11th.
With this victory, Ahn Se-young has gone beyond a simple final appearance and is now just one step away from the "grand slam," which would make her a player to be remembered in badminton history.
The match was tense early on. True to a "Korean derby" between players who know each other well, fierce rallies continued, and Ahn Se-young entered the interval narrowly ahead at 11-10. But the flow of the match then shifted completely in Ahn Se-young's favor.
Immediately after the interval, Ahn Se-young widened the gap with consecutive points. Even when she allowed a comeback to 15-14, she raised her concentration and took the first set. In the second set, she scored 10 consecutive points from the start and effectively ended the contest.
In this tournament, Ahn Se-young has maintained a perfect performance, not dropping a single set from the round of 32 through the semifinals. It is impressive that this is not merely a win but a "complete dominance" that governs the entire match.
This Asia championship has special symbolic meaning in Ahn Se-young's career. Although she has conquered the Olympics, the World Championships and the Asian Games, the Asia Championships repeatedly stopped her at the threshold of the title with a bronze in 2022, silver in 2023 and an exit in the round of 16 in 2024. It was essentially the "final puzzle" remaining.
Now only one win remains. If she wins the final, Ahn Se-young will complete the "grand slam," sweeping all major international tournaments.
In badminton, the grand slam is the pinnacle career achievement that requires conquering the Olympics, the World Championships, the Asian Games and the Asia Championships. Very few players have completed this feat to date. It is even rarer among women. If Ahn Se-young achieves it, she will unquestionably join the ranks of the greatest players in badminton history.
Her opponent in the Asia Championships final will be the winner of the match between Wang Zhiyi and Akane Yamaguchi. Both players are among the world's elite, but they are not Ahn Se-young's equals. Considering her recent form and steady performance, Ahn Se-young is regarded as the strongest favorite to win.
Ahn Se-young's grand slam achievement is now becoming a reality. We are witnesses living in the era of Ahn Se-young.
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