"Why on earth is this happening to me?" Tears of a Japanese veteran... Knocked out early two weeks in a row after running into An Se-young

[Financial News] "Why on earth are you doing this to me?"
For Japanese badminton veteran Nozomi Okuhara (30), An Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) was nothing short of a nightmare. The horror she experienced in Malaysia just six days ago was replayed almost identically, this time in India. Even the scoreline and flow of the match were eerily similar.
World No. 1 An Se-young cruised past Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in straight games, 2-0 (21-17, 21-9), in the round of 32 at the 2026 BWF India Open (BWF World Tour Super 750) held in New Delhi, India, on the 14th (Korea time).
The match felt like a replay of their round-of-16 clash at last week’s Malaysia Open. On that occasion as well, An swept Okuhara 2-0, and the pattern of the contest this time was chillingly similar.
The first game was a kind of "cruel hope" for Okuhara. She hung on tenaciously, drawing level at 13-13 and again at 17-17, showing her determination that "this time will be different." But An remained ice-cold. As soon as the score reached 17-all, she shifted up a gear, rattling off four straight points to close out the game 21-17. It was the exact same first-game score as last week—down to the last point.


The real nightmare was the second game. Having spent her energy in the first, Okuhara began to fade, and An’s demolition job started in earnest. Pulling away early at 4-1 and then 10-3, An pushed her opponent relentlessly to every corner of the court, draining what was left of her stamina.
The second game ended 21-9, a margin of more than double the points. After being held to single digits again—following last week’s 21-7 second game—Okuhara could only leave the court wearing a dazed expression. For An, it was little more than a light warm-up; for Okuhara, it was a brutal day that drove home the reality of running into an immovable wall two weeks in a row.
With a satisfying second straight win over Okuhara, An’s focus now shifts to the round of 16. But her next opponent is no pushover: Taiwan’s rising prospect Huang Yu-hsun.
In the round of 32, Huang Yu-hsun emerged as a dark horse by knocking out An’s national-team senior and Samsung Life Insurance teammate Kim Ga-eun, coming from behind to win 2-1 in games.
For An, this round-of-16 clash is more than just a ticket to the quarterfinals. It is a "revenge match" in which she must show the player who defeated a cherished senior what it means to face the world No. 1.
Last year, An Se-young turned into a "monster" on tour, posting a 94.8% winning percentage and sweeping up prize money totaling about 1.4 billion won. Having conquered Malaysia at the very start of the new year and then moved on to India, her racket is now swinging fiercely again—this time in pursuit of revenge for a teammate.


jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter