World No. 1 An wins Korea Open for 11th title of year

Badminton world No. 1 An Se-young yesterday said she was “very proud” of her achievements after winning an incredible 11th title of the year at her home Korea Open.

The 24-year-old beat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the final in Yeosu to extend an unbeaten run that stretches back to March.

An has been head and shoulders above the rest of the competition this year but she said she still had to be on her guard against world number two Yamaguchi.

South Korea’s An Se-young celebrates on the podium after beating India’s Sindhu Pusarla to win the women’s singles final at the Yonex French Open in Paris on Oct. 25.

Photo: EPA

“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 told the Badminton World Federation. “When the match was over, I was very proud of myself. It felt a bit different because it’s my home tournament.”

It was An’s 11th straight win over Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi’s most recent win over the world No. 1 came in the final of last year’s Korea Open.

“Whenever we play each other, sometimes I win and sometimes she does, so I didn’t think too much about last year’s result,” said An. “Yamaguchi is a player who brings different styles into every match, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy and it wasn’t.”

Of the titles An did not win this year, she finished runner-up at the All-England Open and pulled out injured from the Japan Open.

She claimed her second world crown in August in New Delhi and became the first woman to win two Asian Games singles titles in Nagoya in September.

“We don’t play many matches in Korea so this feels like a dream moment,” An said. “I’m just so proud and happy that so many people in Korea are now supporting badminton.”

Canada’s No. 2 seed, Victor Lai, won the men’s singles title, beating Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan 21-11, 21-14.

In the mixed doubles final, Chinese top seeds Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin beat compatriots Gao Jiaxuan and Wu Mengying 21-16, 21-13.

Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara won the women’s doubles title, beating South Korea’s Kim Yu-jung and Lee Yu-lim 21-18, 21-18 in the final.

In men’s doubles, South Korean top seeds Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae beat Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-12, 20-22, 21-19.