The juggernaut that is Korea’s An Se Young continues to roll on as she beat her closest rival on the circuit this year with relative ease on Sunday at the Japan Open Super 750 in Tokyo, overcoming second seed Wang Zhi Yi 21-12, 21-10 in 42 minutes. The World and Olympic Champion, and the undisputed best player in the world of badminton currently, An won her sixth title in six attempts, a stunning run that has seen her lose just once on the BWF World Tour this year, winning 37 out of 38 matches. She also won allf five matches she played for Korea at the Sudirman Cup.
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Here are some mind-boggling stats from An Se Young’s season so far:
– She began the year on a 27-match winning streak, starting from the Malaysia Open, then India Open, followed by titles at Orleans Masters and All England Open, then a perfect run at the Sudirman Cup for Korea. Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei finally halted her run at the Singapore Open.
– After that run came to a halt, An has just continued on her merry way, winning Indonesia Open Super 1000 and now the Japan Open. While her dream of going unbeaten through the season is no longer alive, An could well complete the Super 1000 Grand Slam next week if she wins at China Open, the year’s fourth BWF World Tour major title.
– In her 38 matches so far in 2025, An Se Young has only dropped a total of six games. Of her six World Tour titles in 2025, she has won three without dropping a game.
WATCH: Highlights from An Se Young’s clash vs Wang Zhi Yi
“I spent a lot of time thinking deeply about how to approach this match, and I also trained extensively,” An told BWF after her triumph. “I’m satisfied with the result because I was able to show improvement compared to before, and I feel that all the hard work I’ve put in was not in vain. After the Indonesia Open, I worked hard to improve the areas I felt were lacking in my performance. I reflected on what kind of play would lead to better results and prepared accordingly. I’m honoured to have this title for the second time.”
Also continuing their superb 2025 were Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae, the soon-to-be crowned world No 1 in men’s doubles next week. They defeated the incumbent world No 1 from Malaysia Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin 21-16 21-17.
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The other three titles went to China. In men’s singles, Shi Yu Qi defeated rising French phenom Alex Lanier 21-17 21-15. Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning overcame Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan 21-15 21-14. In mixed doubles. Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin defeated Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran, 21-19 16-21 21-15.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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