Ahn Se-young (21-Samsung Life) has become the first Korean badminton player to win the World Individual Championships singles title.
Ahn, the world No. 1 in women’s singles, defeated world No. 6 Carolina Marin (30-Spain) 2-0 (21-12 21-10) in the final at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Sunday (July 27).
Ahn, who was stopped by her nemesis Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) in the quarterfinals the year before and the quarterfinals last year, reached the highest level this year.
The Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic gold medalist rejuvenated at the event, defeating Tai Tzu-ying (TAI – World No. 4) and Yamaguchi (World No. 2) in straight sets, but was unable to overcome Ahn.
Ahn is the first South Korean player, male or female, to win the singles event at the World Championships.
During the 28th edition of the event, which began in 1977, South Korean singles players have finished runner-up twice and third nine times.
Women’s singles player Hwang Soo-hyun reached the final for the first time in 1993 and won a silver medal, while Park Sung-woo was the men’s singles runner-up in 1995.
More than three decades later, Ahn ended South Korea’s 46-year drought in the singles.
The win was Ahn’s eighth gold medal of the year.
Ahn has been ranked No. 1 in the world since last month, with seven wins, three runner-up finishes and one third-place finish so far this year.
The tournament, known as the Thomas Cup, was held every three years from 1977 to 1983 and every two years from 1985 to 2003, and has been held every year since 2005, except in Olympic years. 토토