An Seyoung Advances to All England Open Final...Aims for First Back-to-Back Korean Singles Titles

36 Consecutive Wins After Beating Chen Yufei... Final Showdown with Wang Zhiyi
Seo Seungjae-Kim Wonho and Lee Sohee-Baek Hana Also Advance to the Finals

'World's strongest' Se-young Ahn has advanced to the finals of the All England Open, the most prestigious badminton tournament.

Seyoung Ahn. Photo by Yonhap News

World No. 1 in women's singles, Se-young Ahn, defeated China's Chen Yufei 2-1 (20-22, 21-9, 21-12) in the semifinals of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 All England Open, held at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on March 8 (Korean time).

Although Se-young Ahn narrowly lost the first game after a deuce battle, she seized the momentum by scoring seven consecutive points after leading 9-8 in the second game. In the decisive third game, she played a flawless match, not allowing her opponent a single comeback after 1-1.

With this victory, Se-young Ahn extended her international winning streak to 36, continuing her undefeated run since the Denmark Open in October last year.

At this tournament, Se-young Ahn will be aiming for her third career title and to become the first Korean singles player to win back-to-back All England Open championships.

Although legendary doubles stars like Park Joo-bong, Chung Myung-hee, and Gil Young-ah have each accomplished consecutive wins at this tournament, no Korean singles player has ever claimed the title in two consecutive years.

Se-young Ahn will face Wang Zhiyi (China, world No. 2) in the final.

In addition, men's doubles team Seo Seungjae and Kim Wonho (both from Samsung Life Insurance), as well as women's doubles team Lee Sohee and Baek Hana (both from Incheon International Airport), have also reached the finals.

Seo Seungjae and Kim Wonho swept Indonesia's Raymond Indra and Nicolaus Joaquin 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) in the semifinals, raising hopes for a second consecutive All England Open title. Their final opponents are Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, against whom they lead 2-1 in their career head-to-head record.

Lee Sohee and Baek Hana also advanced to the final by defeating Malaysia's Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan 2-0 (21-17, 21-18). If Lee Sohee and Baek Hana defeat Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning (China) in the final, they will reclaim the title for the first time in two years since the 2024 tournament.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.