Suwon: World No. 1 An Se-young finished as the runner-up at the Korea Open, unable to secure her eighth Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour victory of the season in front of a home crowd.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the top-seeded South Korean was defeated by Japan's No. 2 seed, Akane Yamaguchi, with scores of 21-18 and 21-13 in the women's singles final held at Suwon Gymnasium, approximately 30 kilometers south of Seoul. This match marked An's first loss to Yamaguchi in their four encounters this year, bringing her all-time record against the Japanese veteran to 14-15.

An, who clinched the 2024 Olympic gold medal, has had a successful season with seven BWF World Tour tournament victories, including the prestigious All England Open. Although she settled for a bronze medal in her title defense at the world championships in Paris last month, she quickly rebounded with a victory at the China Masters last week. An, the Korea Open champion in 2022 and 2023, had not dropped a game leading up to the final.

During the match, Yamaguchi's precise shotmaking proved too much for An, who trailed by as much as 15-10 in the first game. Despite closing the gap to 17-17, Yamaguchi secured four of the next five points to win the game. The second game saw An struggle further, never leading and falling behind by seven points at one stage. Yamaguchi sealed her victory with a decisive winner, leaving the home crowd in Suwon disappointed, though they still offered An a warm ovation as she bowed in appreciation.

In the women's doubles final earlier that day, South Korea's No. 2 seeds, Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong, triumphed over the top-seeded Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, with scores of 21-19 and 21-12 to claim their first Korea Open title together. Kong had previously won the Korea Open in 2019 with a different partner, Kim So-yeong, before teaming up with Kim Hye-jeong in 2024.

The tournament's final match was set to feature South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae competing for the men's doubles title against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. Kim and Seo, the top-seeded pair and the No. 1-ranked men's doubles duo, aimed for their eighth international title of the season.