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Seo Seung-jae, Kim Won-ho win men's doubles title at badminton worlds

Published: 01 Sep. 2025, 11:03

Kim Won-ho, left, and Seo Seung-jae celebrate on the podium after winning the men's doubles title at the Badminton World Federation World Championships at Adidas Arena in Paris on Aug. 31. [YONHAP]

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho have claimed their first men's doubles title together at the badminton world championships in Paris.

Seo and Kim defeated the Chinese duo of Chen Boyang and Liu Yi 21-17, 21-12, in the men's doubles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships at Adidas Arena in the French capital Sunday.

Seo and Kim came in ranked No. 1 in the BWF men's doubles rankings, while Chen and Liu were No. 11.

Seo won the previous world title in Denmark in 2023 with a different partner, Kang Min-hyuk. Seo reunited with Kim at the start of this season, having previously played with him from 2017 to 2018. The South Korean duo had won five titles on the BWF World Tour circuit in 2025 before teaming up for the world title in Paris.

Seo and Kim were once rivals in the mixed doubles. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kim and his partner Jeong Na-eun defeated Seo and Chae Yu-jung in the mixed doubles semifinals, en route to winning silver.

Seo and Kim overcame some early pressure from their Chinese foes in the final. They trailed 9-5 and then 17-13, before reeling off eight straight points to take the first game.

The Koreans maintained that momentum into the second game, winning the first eight points and never trailing the rest of the way.

Seo and Kim needed just 40 minutes to finish the job.

Theirs was the only gold medal for Korea at this year's worlds. Seo, who also won the mixed doubles title with Chae Yu-jung in 2023, skipped the event altogether this time to focus on the men's doubles. Chae and her new partner, Lee Jong-min, were knocked out in the second round.

An Se-young, the 2023 women's singles champion, fell to the eventual silver medalist from China, Chen Yufei, in the semifinals and settled for a bronze medal this time.

Yonhap