An Se Young becomes first Korean since 1996 to achieve World No. 1 rank in women's singles

The 21-year-old is also the first singles shuttler from the country in six years to become top-ranked player.

An Se Young leapfrogged rival Akane Yamaguchi to become the World No. 1 in women’s singles in the latest rankings released by BWF earlier today (August 1). By the virtue of being WR-1, An Se Young becomes the first South Korean to reach the coveted spot since 1996. She obtained the top spot after clinching the Japan Open title last week where she beat China’s He Bing Jiao in straight games quite comfortably in the final.

Apart from being the WR-1 currently, the 21-year-old is also placed on the top spot in the BWF Road to finals rankings ahead of prominent shuttlers like Akane Yamaguchi and Chen Yu Fei. An Se Young is also the first Korean women’s singles shuttler since Bang Soo Hyun in 1996 to top the BWF rankings.

An Se Young, 21, was still not born when Soo Hyun achieved the feat. Overall, in singles, An Se Young is the first Korean after Son Wan Ho in 2017 to be ranked World No. 1.

Out of the nine BWF World Tour tournaments she has participated in this year, An Se Young has emerged victorious in six excluding the Indonesia Open, Malaysia Masters and German Open. She finished as runners-up in the latter two and reached the semis in Indonesia Open before losing to former WR-1 from China Chen Yu Fei.

Apart from Indonesia Open, the South Korean has progressed to the finals of all the BWF tournaments she has competed in, which in itself is one of the greatest achievements. With five more months to go, the 21-year-old has much more to prove and become one of the most dominant forces in the women’s singles section.

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Achievements

She became the first badminton player ever (across all five disciplines) to contest five finals in the BWF Super 300, 500, 750 and 1000 levels.

By reaching the final of the Japan Open 2023, she leapfrogged Chinese badminton legend Li Xue Rui’s record of reaching nine finals in a year.

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