World No. 1 An Se-young continued her dominant run at the BWF Korea Open on Friday, moving one step closer to her eighth international title of the season with a convincing straight-games victory in the women’s singles quarterfinals.
An dispatched Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 2-0 (21-7, 21-17) in just 41 minutes at Suwon Gymnasium, thrilling the home crowd with her trademark court coverage and tactical control.
The Korean ace breezed through the first game, conceding only seven points. Although Miyazaki, the world No. 10, mounted a brief rally in the second game- drawing level at 15-15- An responded with a composed four-point burst to pull away and close out the match.
With several of her top Chinese rivals- Wang Zhiyi (No. 2), Han Yue (No. 3), and Chen Yufei (No. 5)- absent from the tournament, An is widely viewed as the title favorite. She is now two wins away from securing her third consecutive Korea Open crown, having lifted the trophy in both 2022 and 2023.
In Saturday’s semifinals, An will face Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand (World No. 6), a familiar opponent whom she has defeated in all 11 of their previous encounters.
Seo and Kim Power Through in Men’s Doubles
Korea’s dominance extended to the men’s doubles, where top-ranked pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 win (24-22, 21-11) over China’s Ren Xiangyu and Xie Haonan.
After trailing 12-8 in the first game, Seo and Kim fought back with sharp net play and aggressive smashes, eventually taking the opener in extra points. The second game was a one-sided affair, as the Koreans jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back.
The reigning world champions, Seo and Kim are now eyeing their eighth title of the season. They will next face Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in what promises to be a high-stakes semifinal clash.
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All-Korean Semifinal in Women’s Doubles
Friday also set the stage for an all-Korean showdown in the women’s doubles semifinals.
Second-seeded Kong Hee-yong and Kim Hye-jeong edged out Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara in a tight three-game battle (21-16, 15-21, 21-19), surviving a mid-match slump to book their spot in the final four.
Their next opponents will be fellow Koreans Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, the third seeds, who secured a straight-games victory (21-17, 21-17) over Hsieh Pei-Shan and Hung En-Tzu of Chinese Taipei.
The semifinal matchup between Korea’s top two women’s pairs guarantees a home nation representative in the final.
Korean Contenders Eye Historic Sweep
With representatives in all three disciplines- women’s singles, women’s doubles, and men’s doubles- Team Korea is within reach of a remarkable home-court sweep. As the tournament enters its final two days, the spotlight remains firmly on An Se-young, whose blistering form and relentless consistency continue to elevate her status as the world’s best.
