Queen of Badminton

The first ever South Korean player to win the BWF World Tour Champion title.

“I will come back stronger,” An Se Young says. The No.1 women's singles player in badminton. She dominated Korea masters, BWF (Badminton World Federation) world tour, Paris 2024 Olympic games Gold Medalist. All of her skills come from her early life that supported her in badminton.

An Se Young was born on February 5, 2002, in Gwangju. She started playing badminton for fun, but the coaches noticed that she had talents compared to other kids. Then, in elementary school, she started to show her skills at some junior tournaments. Also, she dominates at the 2017 Asian Junior Team Championships and bronze at the World Junior Championships.

At age of 17, she won the 2019 New Zealand Open. In the semi-finals, she defeated A. Ohori. Then, she won the finals 21-19, 21-15, without playing until the third round. This made her the first ever South Korean player to win the BWF World Tour Champion title.

However, she did struggle with injuries on her knee. At the China Open semifinals, she unfortunately withdrew to protect her right knee, giving up on her opportunity to win. The Korea Times says, “Her withdrawal ruined her hopes of completing the first-ever “Super 1000 Slam,” as she had already won three of the tour’s four top-tier events this year, including the Malaysia Open, All England Open and Indonesia Open.” Even though she missed the Super 1000 Slam, she got a little break for her to chill and practice skills for herself.

Also, on April 25, 2026, BWF will change the point systems from 21 to 15 in order to win. This may or may not be good for her because her strength is stamina, and making the game longer to weaken her opponent. So if the points required to win decreases, her opponents might not be weakened and be able to defeat her. But she still tries different ways for different people, and to use her strength for her games.

“She is a player who doesn’t know how to give up,” says Kim So-yeong, a veteran Korean badminton player. “Even in training, her stamina and focus are on another level. She inspires the younger players, but she also pushes us veterans to keep up.” She not only shows talent at footwork, but also at other things such as smashes and speed at the game.

Take her match against Z. Y. Wang in 2025, she finally won the 3rd round 21:10 after a nailbiting tie, showing her speed and stamina.

She inspires me because right now, I’m 12, and I believe that if I try hard enough, I will be like her. I want to see her games and try to copy her footwork and moves. I hope to beat her achievements and be the No.1 badminton player in the world.