Korean shuttler An Se-young competes in the semifinal round against her rival Chen Yufei of China at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Aichi Prefecture on Sept. 28.NEWS1
An Se-young is one win away from rewriting Asian Games history with back-to-back women’s singles titles. The Korean world No. 1 cruised past former nemesisChen Yufei of China to reach the final at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Monday.
An defeated world No. 4 Chen 2-0 (21-5, 21-12) in the women’s singles semifinal at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Monday.
An needed only 40 minutes to secure her place in the final, while world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi of China and No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan fought for the other berth on the neighboring court.
Korean shuttler An Se-young, left, competes against her rival Chen Yufei of China at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Sept. 28.NEWS1
“Whoever comes through to the final makes no difference to me,” An said. “My job is still to give everything I have. I hope whoever advances can do so without injury.”
The numbers explain An’s confidence. She has beaten Wang in 13 of their past 14 meetings and has won eight straight against Yamaguchi, including their women’s team semifinal at this tournament.
An also extended her winning streak against Chen to five matches, a remarkable turnaround against an opponent who once beat her seven consecutive times.
An has been nearly untouchable this season. She has won 55 of her 56 matches for a 98 percent winning rate. Her run through the ongoing Asian Games has been just as ruthless: 20 minutes in the Round of 32, 35 in the Round of 16, another 35 in the quarterfinals and 40 in the semifinals was all she needed to win each match.
Yet An gave herself a score of just 85 out of 100 for her performance. “For me, 100 means not giving away a single point and making no mistakes,” An said. “I’m always imagining myself playing that kind of match, and I think that’s what keeps me motivated.”
Korean shuttler An Se-young reacts after winning the semifinal round against her rival Chen Yufei of China at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Aichi Prefecture on Sept. 28.NEWS1
The lopsided score did not stop An from seeing what she could learn from Chen.
“Chen can hit precisely down the line no matter where she is on the court, and that puts so much pressure on me,” An said. “I can only produce that kind of accuracy when I get a good chance, so I still have a long way to go to match her in that respect.”
An won both the team and singles titles at the previous Hangzhou Asian Games. Another singles gold this year would make her the first woman in Asian Games badminton history to win back-to-back singles titles.
“Even when I tell myself to enjoy it, the Asian Games aren’t exactly an easy stage to relax and have fun on,” An said. “But I get a little more excited when I don’t hesitate, trust myself and keep playing my game with confidence.”
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.
