An Se-young captures 2nd career badminton world title
South Korea's An Se-young hits a return to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi during the BWF World Championships women's singles final badminton match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Sunday. AFP-Yonhap
South Korean badminton star An Se-young claimed her second career world title in New Delhi on Sunday with a victory over her longtime Japanese rival.
An, world No. 1, defeated the second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in the women's singles final at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the Indian capital.
An won her first world title in 2023. The BWF did not hold the world championships in 2024, the year of the Olympics, and An captured her first Olympic gold in Paris that summer. Last year, though, An was knocked out of the semifinals at the worlds and settled for bronze medal.
This time, An regained her world crown without dropping a game in her six victories, from the first round to the final.
An remains the only South Korean singles player with a world title, men or women.
An has now won six straight meetings against Yamaguchi and improved to 20-15 all time against the Japanese player.
Yamaguchi, who won this competition in 2021, 2022 and 2025, was trying to become the first women's singles player with four world titles.
An came out on top in the back-and-forth first game, with neither player leading by more than three points until An closed things out 21-17.
An built a 15-12 lead before Yamaguchi grabbed four straight points to take a 16-15 lead. But Yamaguchi did not lead again the rest of the opening game.
At 17-17, An reeled off four straight points, thanks to a combination of her emphatic winners and unforced errors by her opponent.
Yamaguchi led 4-2 to begin the second game but An battled back to grab a 7-6 lead.
After some seesaw battle, An jumped out to an 11-7 advantage, landing one big winner after another.
Yamaguchi fought back with three straight points but committed a couple of unforced errors to allow An to take a 13-10 lead.
Gold medalist South Korea's An Se-young kisses her medal on the podium during an awards ceremony after winning against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in their BWF World Championships women's singles final badminton match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Sunday. AFP-Yonhap
More sloppy play by the Japanese helped An seize a 16-11 lead. Up 17-13, An prevailed after a long rally, sending Yamaguchi sprawling to the floor with a deft drop shot. Yamaguchi got a point back but then An scored the final three points to clinch her championship.
This was An's first tournament since pulling out of the Japan Open last month due to a left foot injury. Before departing for India on Aug. 14, An told South Korean media that she was not completely pain-free but she would be able to play through some lingering pain.
Earlier Sunday, Baek Hana and Lee So-hee teamed up for the women's doubles title, South Korea's first triumph in the event in over three decades.
Baek and Lee defeated Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China 21-15, 21-15 to become just the second South Korean duo to win the world title in the women's doubles -- and the first since Gil Young-ah and Jang Hye-ock in 1995.
Baek and Lee scored the match's first five points and never trailed in winning the first game over Liu and Tan.
In the second game, the teams were tied at 4-4 before Baek and Lee opened up a 10-5 lead. The Chinese duo cut it to 13-12, only to see Baek and Lee score five unanswered points and clinch the title in 51 minutes.
In the men's doubles, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho failed to defend their title, after losing in the semifinals to Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, 21-17, 21-18, on Saturday.