INDONEWSIAN.COM – An Se-young, 23 years old, Samsung Life Insurance, rewrote the history of world badminton. She set the all-time records for most wins in a season, highest win rate, and prize money. Beyond An Se-young, South Korea also demonstrated its dominance in men’s and women’s doubles this season. The undisputed “golden era” of South Korean badminton has officially begun.
On the 21st, at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China—a “champions of champions tournament” to conclude the year—South Korean players consecutively claimed the top spots on the podium. An Se-young, the world No. 1 in women’s singles, tied the men’s singles record for most wins in a season (11 titles) set by Kento Momota (Japan) in 2019. Earlier in November, she became the first woman to reach 10 wins in a season at the Australia Open.
The record-breaking streak did not stop there. She surpassed the highest single-season win rate and became the first badminton player to earn over $1 million in prize money in a single season. An Se-young finished the season with 73 wins and 4 losses, achieving a 94.8% win rate—an all-time high among players with 60 or more matches. The previous record was held by Lin Dan (China) in 2011, with a 92.8% win rate (64 wins, 5 losses).
An Se-young also secured $240,000 in prize money from this final, bringing her total for the season to $1,003,175. She is the first badminton player to surpass $1 million in a single season. Her career earnings now stand at $2,570,000, also a record.
In the final, An Se-young defeated world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi (China) 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 21-10). Despite limping from left leg pain in the closing stages, she showcased relentless determination. After the match, she said, “I believe this is the result of my efforts. I want to achieve the ‘Super 1000 Slam’ as well as major tournaments like the World Championships.” The Super 1000 Slam refers to winning all four Super 1000 tournaments in a single season.
The world No. 1 men’s doubles pair Seo Seung-jae, 28, and Kim Won-ho, 26 (Samsung Life Insurance), also set a new record with their 11th win of the season. They defeated world No. 5 Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang (China) 2-0 (21-18, 21-14). They have maintained their world No. 1 ranking for 22 consecutive weeks, including a gold medal at the World Championships this year.
The world No. 7 women’s doubles pair Lee So-hee, 31, and Baek Hana, 25 (both Incheon International Airport Corporation), also claimed victory by defeating world No. 5 Fukushima Yuki and Matsumoto Mayu (Japan) 2-0 (21-15, 21-11). This marks their second consecutive World Tour Finals title.
This is the first time South Korea has won all three categories at the World Tour Finals since the event began in 2018. Experts evaluate that a new golden era for South Korean badminton has arrived, centered around An Se-young. The current team’s performance is on par with legends from the 1990s, including Bang Soo-hyun, Kim Dong-moon, Park Ju-bong, and Ha Tae-gwon.
Analysts note, “The focus on generational change to overcome the slump in the 2010s has begun to bear fruit over the past two to three years.” By consistently fielding teenage and early 20s players, even if immediate results were lacking, they accumulated international experience. An Se-young, who competed in the Asian Games at age 15 in 2018, is a prime example. Seo Seung-jae also started competing in adult international tournaments at 18.
The shift in the national team’s atmosphere after last year’s Paris Olympics has had a positive impact. With the appointment of Olympic gold medalist Kim Dong-moon as president of the association and Park Ju-bong as coach, individual sponsorship contracts for national team members were allowed, and many irregularities within the team were resolved. A conducive environment for young athletes to focus solely on training has been established. Park Ju-bong, who successfully led the Japanese national team for 20 years, has reduced the duration of training camp stays and is working to improve the rigid organizational culture. A source from the badminton community said, “Expectations are growing that South Korean badminton will challenge world powerhouse China at next year’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.” ***
