Korea Shuttlecock Harvests Double Gold Medal at Indonesia Open...Side by side, reverse-reversal Ahn Se-young won his 5th season and Seo Seung-jae Kim Won-ho's 4th win

Jun 08, 2025

South Korea's An Se Young, right, celebrates on the podium with her trophy after defeating China's Wang Zhiyi in their women's singles final match at the Indonesia Open badminton tournament at Istora Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

South Korea's shuttlecock won a double gold medal at the Indonesian Open.

`Shuttlecock Empress' Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance) won her fifth gold medal of the season, while Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae (Samsung Life Insurance) won their fourth gold medal.

World No. 1 Ahn Se-young came from behind to win 2-1 (13-21, 21-19, 21-15) at the '2025 Indonesia Open Badminton Championship (Super 1000)' women's singles final held in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 8th.

It is the fifth time that Ahn has won an international competition this year, following the Malaysian Open, the Indian Open (January), the Orléan Masters, and the Jeon Young Open (March). Ahn Se-young, who was caught by rival Chen Yu-fei (China, world fifth) and dropped out of the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open just before, put the brakes on her winning streak for four consecutive years. However, as he succeeded in retaking the top spot immediately, he was able to quickly recover his world's strongest side and continue the trend of winning international competitions.

In addition, Ahn Se-young, who finished second after losing to Chen Yu-pay at the tournament last year, recaptured the Indonesian Open throne for the first time in four years since 2021.

First place winner South Korea's An Se Young, right, celebrates on the podium after defeating China's Wang Zhiyi, left, in their women's singles final match at the Indonesia Open badminton tournament at Istora Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

The final match also drew attention as a match between the world's strongest player 'Queen (Ahn Se-young)' and the frighteningly emerging 'Dark Horse (Wang Zui)' for nearly two years. In the semi-finals the previous day, Ahn easily defeated Japan's strong opponent Akane Yamaguchi (21-18, 21-17), and overcame a big crisis. Ahn Se-young, who defeated Ong Bamlongpan (Thailand, world No. 12) in the round of 32, his teammate Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life Insurance, world No. 25) in the round of 16, and Forn Pawu Chuchu Wong (Thailand, world No. 8) in the quarterfinals, continued her march of 'Perfect' in the semifinals.

Wang Zhi proved himself to be the emerging strongest in China by beating his rivals Gao Fangze (14th in the world) and Hanyue (4th in the world) in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Chen Yufei withdrew from the quarterfinals against Hanyue due to injury. The era of Chen Yufei, who once competed with Ahn Se-young for the first place in the world, is gone, and Wang Zi is emerging as a strong rival to Ahn Se-young.

The prediction before the game was Ahn's dominance. This is because he has been strong recently against Wang Zui. In March, he wrote a drama in which he came from behind to win 2-1 (13-21, 21-18, 21-18) over Wang Zhi with a brilliant injury fighting spirit in the final of the Jeon Young Open. Then, in the Sudhirman Cup (World Mixed Team Championship) final in April, when Team Korea" lost to Team China" by a score of 1-3, the only victory in the women's singles was Wangz.

Even in the final on that day, Wang Zhi was still not an opponent. It was a reproduction of the thrilling reversal drama presented at the Jeon Young Open. Ahn Se-young, who injured her right knee in the semifinal the previous day, was relatively low in mobility from the beginning of the game. Ahn Se-young, who lost the lead from the beginning of the first game, was greatly pushed back to 12-18 and was treated for his right knee.

Ahn, who gave up his first game somewhat lethargicly, showed off the world's strongest 'power' in the second game. He surprised everyone by finishing with a thrilling turnaround, scoring six consecutive points while losing 9-17. Ahn Se-young, who struggled to win, found composure in three games. Taking a calm lead from the beginning of the game, An Se-young did not allow a chase throughout and ran to 19-13, and Wang Zhi, who was already flagged, knelt in front of the queen without much resistance.

In the men's doubles final that followed, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae (6th in the world) also added a gold medal with a 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 21-12) come-from-behind victory over Gutama-Ispani (Indonesia, 8th in the world). In particular, Seo Seung-jae was paired with Kim Won-ho this season and won the Indonesian Open following the Malaysia, German Open, and Jeon Young Open, and won the Thai Masters (January) in the combination with his junior Jin Yong.

Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na (hereinafter Incheon International Airport) in women's doubles won the bronze medal.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.