(Ichinomiya [Japan] = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = Ahn Se-young, an 'absolute top' for whom even the bracket does not mean much, easily reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Games with an overwhelming performance.
Ahn Se-young, ranked No. 1 in women's singles in the world, defeated Sri Lanka's Ranitma Tinudi Weihena Liyanage 2-0 (21-9 21-10) in 35 minutes in the badminton women's singles round of 16 at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 26th.
On this day, Ahn Se-young had a harsh schedule of playing two games a day.
Typically, the Olympics and Asian Games, which feature both team and individual competitions, are held for 4 days for the team competition and 6 days for the individual competition, but this competition is devoted to 5 days for the team competition and the individual competition schedule has been compressed to 5 days.
Ahn Se-young, who passed the round of 64 by default, played in the round of 32 around noon that day, and then competed in the round of 16 again at the same venue about 7 hours later.
There were concerns about the physical burden, but it turned out to be unfounded.
Ahn Se-young, who easily defeated Kamila Smagulova (Kazakhstan) 2-0 (21-5 21-5) in just 20 minutes in the previous round of 32, showed off her strongest power in the round of 16 as well.
The opposing player quickly lost his will to fight due to Ahn Se-young's perfect offense and defense balance.
At one point in Game 2, it looked like they were catching up, allowing the score to be tied 10-10, but Ahn Se-young scored 11 consecutive points to put an end to the game.
Ahn Se-young, who is considered the 0th-ranked winner in this competition, is challenging a new history.
If Ahn Se-young, who swept the team event and singles event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, reaches the top of the singles event at this tournament, she will achieve the great feat of winning two consecutive titles for the first time in the history of the badminton women's singles at the Asian Games.
Meanwhile, the world No. 1 men's doubles team of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also met Malaysia's powerhouse Aaron Chia-Thai Kai-un in the round of 16 held on this day and defeated them 2-0 (21-19 21-16) to advance to the quarterfinals.
The opponent was a talented player who had risen to 4th place in the world rankings in the past in groups with different partners, but due to a recent change in partner and a drop in ranking, they faced the Korean group from the round of 16.
The team of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho were dragged throughout the first game, but showed concentration at the last minute to turn the tide.
While trailing 15-17, they succeeded in coming back by scoring 3 points. Afterwards, they allowed the score to be tied twice due to the opponent's persistent pursuit, but they took the lead with their fierce backs.
In the second game, the team scored 6 consecutive points in a tight 11-11 balance, taking the lead and ending the game early.
They, who won 11 gold medals last season and tied the record for most wins in a single season alongside Ahn Se-young, have not been able to win the title in the last six competitions, but are looking forward to this Asian Games stage as a brilliant opportunity to regain their honor.
The women's doubles world ranking pair of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na reached the quarterfinals with a bitter victory after a fierce battle that lasted 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Korea's leading doubles team, which had previously suffered defeats in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the women's team event, defeated world number 11 Febriana Kusuma and Mailisa Puspita Sari (Indonesia) 2-1 (21-16 15-21 21-9) to advance to the quarterfinals.
The men's doubles pair of Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju defeated Singapore's Wesley Ko and Junsuke Kubo 2-0 in just 38 minutes to safely advance to the quarterfinals.
The disappointing news of elimination continued. Women's singles Kim Ga-eun was saddened when she withdrew due to a thigh injury during her round of 16 match against world number 2 Wang Zhiyi (China).
The women's doubles pair of Kim Hye-jeong and Lee Yeon-woo faced the world's No. 1 pair, Ryu Seong-soo and Tanning (China), and fought fiercely by winning the first game, but ultimately lost 1-2 (21-19 9-21 18-21) and failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
