Seo Seungjae and Kim Wonho Capture Back-to-Back All England Open Men’s Doubles Titles After 40 Years

The world’s top-ranked men’s badminton doubles team, Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim, have achieved back-to-back victories at the All England Open.

Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim have made history by replicating the glory achieved 40 years ago by legendary South Korean badminton figure and national team head coach Park Joobong, who won consecutive All England Open titles with Kim Moonsu in 1985 and 1986.

On March 9, 2026 (Korean time), at Utilita Arena Birmingham in the United Kingdom, Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim claimed the championship trophy by defeating the world number 2 Malaysian duo Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 21-19) in a comeback victory in the final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 All England Open.

Seungjae Seo (left) and Wonho Kim are celebrating their victory after securing the championship by coming from behind to defeat the world No. 2 Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 All England Open held at Utilita Arena in Birmingham on the 9th (Korean time). Birmingham= Photo by AP Yonhap News

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Although Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim held a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record against the Malaysian pair, they struggled throughout the first set. After falling behind 2-6 in the first set, they tied the score at 8-8, and after trailing 10-15, they caught up again to 18-18, showing their tenacity, but ultimately lost the first set 18-21. In the second set, they took control from the beginning and secured a commanding 21-12 victory.

The third set started shakily, with four consecutive points conceded right at the start. Trailing 7-12, Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim scored four points in a row to shift the momentum. After tying at 13-13, both sides traded single points until 16-16, when the Korean pair took two points in succession to seize the advantage. With victory in sight at 20-17, they conceded two points and nearly allowed the match to go into deuce, but Wonho Kim sealed the win with a powerful smash between Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

In an earlier match, the women’s doubles team of Baek Hana and Lee Sohee, ranked fourth in the world, finished as runners-up after losing 0-2 (18-21, 12-21) to the world number 1 Chinese pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning.

Ahn Seyoung, who was also aiming for back-to-back All England Open titles alongside Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim, ended as runner-up after falling 0-2 (15-21, 19-21) to world number 2 Wang Zhiyi of China.

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