New delhi: 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.
According to Yonhap News Agency, 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 a 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. She 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.
Earlier Sunday, Baek Hana and Lee So-hee teamed up for the women's doubles title, marking 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.