An Se-young dominates badminton in milestone year for Korea [REWIND 2023]

An, 21, was the first Korean to win the Asian Games tournament in 29 years, and the first Korean to even play in a final at the World Championships in 30 years.

Korea's An Se-young celebrates after defeating China's Chen Yufei in their women's singles badminton gold medal match at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 7. [AP/YONHAP]

An Se-young became the first Korean ever to win a women’s badminton singles world title at the 2023 Badminton World Federation World Championships in August, beating Carolina Marin of Spain to take the highest honor in the sport.

An, the world No. 1, then returned to the court a month later to win the women’s single event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, beating Chen Yufei of China to the title.

Both of those victories mark huge milestones for Korean badminton. An was the first Korean to win the Asian Games tournament in 29 years, and the first Korean to even play in a final at the World Championships in 30 years.

An, 21, won eight World Tour gold medals throughout the 2023 season, alongside her World Championships title and two gold medals at the Asian Games — she also medaled in the women’s team event.

An beat long-time rival Chen — the current world No. 2 — en route to both the World Championship and Asian Games titles. That shift in momentum toward An suggests that her dominance at the top of the badminton world could continue for some time.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]