New delhi: Baek Hana and Lee So-hee teamed up for the women's doubles badminton world title in India on Sunday, marking South Korea's first triumph in this event in over three decades. The duo achieved victory against Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China with a scoreline of 21-15, 21-15 during the final match at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships held at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. According to Yonhap News Agency, Baek and Lee became only the second South Korean duo to claim the world title in women's doubles, following in the footsteps of Gil Young-ah and Jang Hye-ock who achieved this feat in 1995. The South Korean pair displayed dominance from the start, scoring the first five points of the match and maintaining their lead throughout the first game against Liu and Tan. In the second game, the teams were initially tied at 4-4, but Baek and Lee managed to extend their lead to 10-5. Although the Chinese pair narrowed the gap to 13-12, Baek and Lee responded with five conse cutive points, securing the title in a 51-minute match. In men's doubles, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho were unable to defend their title, losing in the semifinals to Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia with scores of 21-17, 21-18. Later on Sunday, world No. 1 An Se-young was set to face second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the women's singles final. An captured her first world title in 2023, while Yamaguchi was the champion in 2021, 2022, and 2025.
