Suwon: World No. 1 An Se-young successfully progressed to the quarterfinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour event at home. The top-seeded An secured a straight-sets victory over Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei, scoring 2-0 (21-13, 21-8) in the round of 16 at the Korea Open held at Suwon Gymnasium, located 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean star demonstrated her dominance on the court, initially establishing a 12-6 lead. Despite a brief challenge from Chiu, who narrowed the gap to 13-11, An quickly regained control by winning seven consecutive points. In the second game, An showcased her prowess by winning the first seven points, cruising to an easy victory. In the upcoming quarterfinals, An is set to face Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan. As she aims for her eighth BWF World Tour victory this season, An is also targeting her third consecutive Korea Open title, having won in both 2022 and 2023.
An is perceived as the frontrunner this week, especially in the absence of other high-ranked players like Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue, and Chen Yufei from China. Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, currently world No. 4, is the second seed in Suwon and is positioned on the opposite side of the bracket from An. The rivalry between An and Yamaguchi remains intense, with each having won 14 of their 28 head-to-head encounters. Notably, An has emerged victorious in all three meetings this year.
In other matches, the world No. 1 men's doubles team, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, triumphed over Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita of Japan with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-15) victory. Despite trailing in the opening game, the South Korean duo managed to secure a lead and ultimately clinched the win. They will next face Ren Xiangyu and Xie Haonan of China in the quarterfinals. Seo and Kim have an impressive record this year, having won seven international titles, including their first world championship together in August.
In women's doubles, the second-seeded pair of Kong Hee-yong and Kim Hye-jeong defeated Hu Ling-Fang and Jheng Yu-Chieh of Chinese Taipei 2-0 (21-17, 21-13). They will compete against Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara of Japan in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the No. 3 seeds Baek Hana and Lee So-hee from South Korea eliminated Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) win, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Hsieh Pei-Shan and Hung En-Tzu of Chinese Taipei.