Shenzhen, China, September 7, 2026: One of the biggest stars in Asian sport, Korean badminton ace An Se-young, won her final tournament before the Asian Games on Sunday, September 6.
An, world No. 1, defeated former world junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 21-17, 21-6 in the women's singles final at the 2026 BWF China Masters at Shenzhen Arena, further enhancing her hopes of retaining the Asian Games title in Aichi-Nagoya.
It was An’s seventh title of the season in the eight finals she has contested and extended her winning streak to 33 matches.
The 24-year-old Korean, who needed just 45 minutes against the ninth-ranked Japanese, did not drop a game in her five matches en route to her third consecutive China Masters title.
“I’m so proud of myself. I’m really pleased with the result and I feel so happy,” An told the Badminton World Federation.
“There are many players coming up and challenging. I don’t think any match can be taken lightly.
“Tomoka put me under a lot of pressure, which left me a bit flustered. But I tried to calmly maintain my pace and not to rush.”
An, the Olympic champion in Paris two years ago, also won her second career world title in New Delhi in August and will be riding some big momentum into the Asian Games.
The badminton competition will begin with the women's team event on September 20, as An and her teammates will try to defend their gold medal from Hangzhou 2022.
The women's singles competition starts on September 25, with An widely regarded as the hot favorite to win her second consecutive gold. The women's singles final is set for Tuesday, September 29, when all five finals will be contested.
*The men’s singles finalists shared much in common. Jason Gunawan and Lee Cheuk Yiu are both from Hong Kong, China, were both unseeded in Shenzhen and are also training teammates.
Gunawan claimed a straight-game victory, winning 21-9, 21-16 in the showpiece event.
“It’s fantastic - I think it’s the first time we can test ourselves against each other in a title match,” said the world No. 32, who won his second BWF title in his maiden Super 750 final.
“We know each other very well. We train a lot together. It’s a great confidence boost for us and our team. Hopefully, we can show our teammates and the younger players we can fight against the stronger teams and give them more confidence for the future.”
*In doubles, China's Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping won the mixed doubles title by beating Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing 21-19, 21-16.
Japan's Sumire Nakade and Miyu Takahashi defeated China's Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan 21-18, 21-18 in the women's doubles final, while India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came from a game down to beat China's He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 in the men's doubles final.
(Yonhap/Xinhua)