Badminton star An Se-young fails to defend title at All England Open 작성일 03-09 23 목록 <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/09/0000085385_001_20260309125116800.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">An Se-young hits a return against China's Wang Zhiyi during their women's singles final at the All England Open Badminton Championships at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, central England, on March 8. [AFP/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> Badminton star An Se-young failed to defend her title at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships. <br> <br> An lost to China’s Wang Zhiyi 0-2, 15-21 and 19-21 in the women’s singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 event, which concluded at the Utilita Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England, on Sunday. <br><br>First held in 1899 and now in its 116th edition, the All England Open is the sport’s most prestigious tournament. <br> <br> Before her loss, An had been chasing her third career singles title in what would have been the first back-to-back singles title by a Korean player. <br> <br> This loss also put an end to her 10-match winning streak against Wang, as well as her 36-match winning streak in official competition. Since losing to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the final of the Korea Open in Suwon in September of last year, An had not lost a single match through the semifinals of this tournament. <br> <br> An won 11 titles last year and tied for the record for the most titles in a single season. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/09/0000085385_002_20260309125116887.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">An Se-young celebrates after defeating China's Wang Zhiyi during their women's singles final match at the BWF Badminton World Tour Finals at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center gymnasium in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Dec. 21, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> In January, she swept the Malaysia Open and India Open before leading the Korean women’s team to the title at the Badminton Asia Team Championships last month. <br> <br> She had been aiming for her third singles title of the season but came up short. <br> <br> An’s smash accuracy dropped sharply in the opening game, and fatigue appeared to set in during the second. She battled to the end, but Wang’s relentless defense broke her down. <br> <br> Wang, who had long struggled to get past the world No. 1, finally captured the title and avenged her loss in last year’s final. <br> <br> Meanwhile, women’s doubles pair Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee were also runners-up. They fell 0-2, 18-21 and 12-21 to China’s Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning in the women’s doubles final. <br><br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i> 관련자료 이전 '알파고 쇼크'가 바꾼 10년…이세돌, AI와 다시 맞붙는다 03-09 다음 김원희, 6년 전 강호동과 스캔들에 입 열었다…"남자로서 호감 제로" ('아근진') 03-09 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
