World : Badminton Star An Se-Young Wins Korea Open For Record-Tying 11th Int'l Title

Seoul, November 8 — Top-ranked badminton player An Se-young expressed pride in her accomplishments following her victory in her 11th title of the year at the Korea Open, held in her home country. The 24-year-old defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the final to extend her unbeaten streak that began in March. Despite her dominance, An acknowledged the challenge posed by her opponent, stating that Yamaguchi always has the ability to keep the score close.

"She’s a player who can always keep the score close so I tried to keep the intensity up all the way until the end," An said to the Badminton World Federation. This win marked An's 11th consecutive victory over Yamaguchi, who had not defeated the world number one since last year's Korea Open. An noted that each match against Yamaguchi brings different tactics, making it a tough contest.

Out of the titles An did not claim this year, she finished second at the All-England Open and withdrew due to injury from the Japan Open. Notably, An claimed her second world championship in August in New Delhi and became the first woman to secure two Asian Games singles titles in Nagoya in September. An highlighted the significance of the Korea Open win, saying, "We don’t play many matches in Korea so this feels like a dream moment."

She expressed gratitude for the support from Korean fans for the sport of badminton. In other events, Canada's Victor Lai secured the men's singles title, defeating Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan 21-11, 21-14. In the mixed doubles final, Chinese top seeds Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin overcame their compatriots Gao Jiaxuan and Wu Mengying 21-16, 21-13.

Japan's Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara claimed the women's doubles championship, defeating South Korea's Kim Yu-jung and Lee Yu-lim 21-18, 21-18. In the men's doubles category, South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae defeated Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-12, 20-22, 21-19.