[Breaking] ‘Miracle second game’ – An Se-young beats Wang Zhiyi to complete Malaysia Open hat-trick: “I don’t lose to Chinese players”

[The Financial News] “Collecting titles is both my hobby and my driving force.”
Last year, An Se-young of Samsung Life Insurance embodied the phrase “young and rich,” sweeping up prize money of 1.45 billion won worldwide with just a badminton racket in hand. Having already secured both wealth and fame, she set an audacious goal for the 2026 season: to go undefeated. Vowing not to lose a single match all year — a declaration that would sound outrageous for almost any athlete — has now started to turn into reality.
On January 11 (Korea time) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, An Se-young captured the women’s singles title at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open, defeating China’s Wang Zhiyi 2-0 (21-15, 24-22) in the final.
With this victory, An Se-young completed a hat-trick of Malaysia Open titles and at the same time set a remarkable record of five consecutive tournament wins dating back to last year. She also improved her head-to-head record against Wang Zhiyi to 9-0, once again underscoring her status as a true nemesis.

From the outset, this tournament was dominated by the aura of fear surrounding An Se-young. As soon as she declared, “My goal this year is to win every match,” China’s top stars, long considered the strongest in the world, began packing their bags one after another as if on cue.
Her quarterfinal opponent, world No. 5 Han Yue, withdrew citing a severe cold. Then her projected semifinal rival and long-time foe, world No. 4 Chen Yufei, also pulled out, raising the white flag just 12 hours before their match.
Even Chinese media criticized the wave of withdrawals, saying it was “as if they were handing the trophy to An Se-young on a silver platter.” An Se-young advanced to the final without swinging her racket in the semifinals, effectively walking into the title match unopposed.
The only Chinese player to step up and challenge her was Wang Zhiyi in the final. With all her teammates having withdrawn, Wang Zhiyi put up a desperate fight.
Having conserved her energy, An Se-young moved lightly from the very first game. Mixing her trademark net-like defense with sharp cross-court attacks, she comfortably took the opener 21-15 and appeared to be in full control.
But the tide turned in the second game as Wang Zhiyi launched a fierce counterattack. With her back against the wall, Wang jumped out to a 3-0 lead and put An Se-young under pressure. At 10-8 in a tight contest, Wang drove An around the corners of the court with dazzling high clears and powerful smashes, stringing together points in succession.


The gap suddenly widened to 17-9. An Se-young’s footwork looked heavy, and the momentum seemed to have completely shifted to Wang Zhiyi. But from that moment, An Se-young began her comeback. She rattled off five straight points to close to 18-19. While Wang managed only one point, An piled on eight, completely seizing back the flow of the game. At 18-19, Wang committed a crucial smashing error, allowing An to level the score at 19-19.
The match eventually came down to a final deuce at 20-20. An Se-young overturned the contest to lead 23-22, and when her last smash landed inside the court, she sealed the victory and savored her first title of the year.
Having patiently waited for her opponent’s stamina to drop, An Se-young displayed terrifying focus from the middle of the second game. Her trademark “zombie defense,” returning even Wang Zhiyi’s best attacking shots, came back to life, and the rattled Wang began to commit error after error.
In the end, An Se-young took the second game and lifted her first championship trophy of 2026.
Her ambition to “erase defeat” from her record was no empty bravado. Chinese players either chose defeat by withdrawing on their own or were forced to their knees on court — there was no third option.
The year 2026 has only just turned the first page of the An Se-young era. The global badminton world is watching in hushed anticipation to see how long her undefeated run can continue.

jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter