South Korea’s women’s badminton team got off to a strong start in the Uber Cup final as its top singles player, An Se-young of Samsung Life Insurance, won the opening match.
Yonhap reported that An, the world No. 1, defeated world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi of China 21-10, 21-13 in the first women’s singles match of the 2026 Uber Cup final in Horsens, Denmark, on Saturday (Korea time).
An controlled the match throughout. Wang never drew level in either game. An jumped ahead 7-1 with a seven-point run early in the first game and led 11-2 at the interval, then closed it out 21-10 by varying pace with half smashes and tight net shots.
The second game followed a similar pattern. An led 11-5 at the interval and briefly allowed Wang to close to 12-9 after three straight points, but she steadied, forced errors and finished on a net shot at 20-13.
With the win, An improved to 20-5 all-time against Wang. Wang had snapped a losing streak against An in the All England Open final in March, but An has beaten her again, including in the Asian Championships final in April and now in this tournament, maintaining the one-sided rivalry.
An has played the first singles match from the group stage through the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, winning every match without dropping a game. The Uber Cup, held every two years, is the women’s world team championship. Teams play five matches — three singles and two doubles — with the first to three wins taking the title. South Korea is seeking its third championship after winning in 2010 and 2022.
After An, South Korea’s lineup is Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport)-Jeong Na-eun (Hwasun County Office), Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life Insurance), Baek Ha-na (Incheon International Airport)-Kim Hye-jeong (Samsung Life Insurance), and Sim Yu-jin (Incheon International Airport).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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