South Korean badminton star An Se-young defeated China's Wang Zhiyi 2-1 in the women's singles final at the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, securing her 11th international title of the season. The win ties the record set by former men's singles player Kento Momota. Despite a knee injury, An persevered to claim victory.
An Se-young, 23, the world No. 1 and 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist, defeated Wang Zhiyi 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 in the women's singles final at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals on December 21 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in China. The 96-minute match marked her 11th international title of the season, tying the single-season record held by former Japanese men's singles player Kento Momota.
An reached 12 finals across 15 BWF World Tour events this year, with her only final loss coming to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi at the Korea Open in September. Undefeated in the round-robin preliminary phase for the top-eight event, An avenged that defeat by beating Yamaguchi in the semifinals.
In the first game, An overcame an 8-4 deficit to lead 12-8 and won 21-13 with strong shotmaking and defense. Wang took the second 21-18 after leading early and holding off An's comeback. In the decider, An built an 8-5 lead and extended it to 15-6 amid exhaustion, closing 21-10.
Late in the match, An showed knee discomfort, flexing her left leg and limping during a match point at 20-10. She stretched on the sidelines before converting it. "I doubted whether I'd really be able to get to the 11th win," An said. "I guess my belief was stronger than those doubts."
"It was a grueling match. Toward the end, my leg hurt every time I landed on it, but I stuck to it through the end," she added. "I am really happy that I was able to finish with such a great result... My hard work has paid off, and I want to keep going for more records."
Looking ahead, An aims for major titles like the world championships and Asian Games. She expressed admiration for men's singles power: "When I watch men's singles matches, there are so many plays that make me go, 'How did they hit that shot?' I want to play like that, and I think I can get close to that level at some point in the future."
An now leads Wang 16-4 overall and 8-0 this year; her last loss was in the 2024 World Tour Finals semifinals.
South Korea also claimed two doubles titles that day. World No. 1 men's pair Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae beat China's Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-18, 21-14 in 40 minutes for their 11th title. Women's duo Baek Hana and Lee So-hee defended their crown 21-17, 21-11 over Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, becoming the first South Korean doubles team to win back-to-back World Tour Finals since 2018.
