South Korean ace An Se-young has taken one step closer to win the one major title that has eluded her. The top ranked women’s singles player hardly raised a sweat as the defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships in Jianbei.
The Asian crown is the only major crown missing from her showcase that includes the Olympics, the World Championship, and the Asian Games.
Despite her recent loss to rival Wang Zhiyi in the All-England final, Se-young is undoubtedly the most dominant player on the badminton circuit in recent years.
The Badminton Asia Championships is the only blemish, albeit minor, on her illustrious career. She was a bronze medallist in 2022 and lost on the final to Taiwanese Tai Tzu-ying the following year. Injuries hampered her chances in 2024 and 2025, She was stopped in the quarter-finals in 2024 and injury saw her skipping the tournament last year.
Se-young will take on Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki in the quarter-finals.
Second seed and champion two years ago, Zhiyi defeated India’s veteran shuttler P.V. Sindhu 21-18, 21-8 to book her place in the last eight. The reigning All-England champion will take on another Japanese – Riko Gunji – in her quarter-final tie.
Men’s singles top seed, Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, overcame a first game shock to eventually race out a 8-21, 21-18, 21-5 win over Japan’s Yushi Tanaka. He will play Hong Kong’s Weng Hongyang for a place in the semi-finals.
Also through to the last eight are second seed Shi Yuqi of China, third seeded Jonatan Christie and former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Of the three, only Kean Yew was forced to go the distance before beating Japan’s Koki Watanabe 22-20, 15-21, 21-15.
In the men’s doubles, eight seeded Japanese duo of Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi were the only major casualty as they were beaten 18-21, 21-19, 11-21 by Korea’s Kang Ming-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju.
However, another seeded Korean pair, Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee were beaten in the women’s doubles competition. Indonesia’s Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti won their clash against the third seeds 21-17, 21-16.
Also failing to progress were fourth seeds Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian, who were beaten 21-19, 19-21, 9-21 by Indonesia’s Rachel Alleyssa Rose-Febi Setianingrum.
Second seeded Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan survived the battle against the Taiwanese duo of Hsu Yon-Hui-Lin Jhih Yun, scrappinmg through 21-19, 19-21, 24-22.
Both the seventh and eighth seeds in the mixed doubles were also shown the exit. Seventh seeds Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu of Indonesia succumbed to a 21-23, 22-20, 20-21 defeat at the hands of Korea’s Kim Ja-hyeon-Jang Ha-jeong.
Taiwanese Chen Cheng Kuan-Hsu Yin-Hui picked up a hard earned 10-21, 21-15, 21-15 win over eighth seeded Goh Soon Huat-Jemie Lai Shevon.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
Men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 8-21, 21-18, 21-5; Weng Hongyang (Chn) bt H.S. Prannoy (Ind) 21-12, 21-19; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Yudai Okimoto (Jpn) 21-18, 21-13; Ayush Shetty (Ind) bt Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-16, 21-12; Loh Kean Yew (Sgp) bt Koki Watanabe (Jpn) 22-20, 15-21, 21-15; Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) walkover; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Alwi Farhan (Ina) 21-16, 21-17; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) 21-11, 21-10
Men’s doubles: Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Wesley Koh Eng Keat-Junsuke Kubo (Jpn) 21-12, 25-23; Ali Faathir Rahyan-Devin Artha Wahyudi (Ina) bt Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn-Worrapol Thongsa-Nga (Tha) 22-20, 15-21, 21-15; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi (Jpn) 15-21, 21-15, 21-14; He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) bt Donovan Willard Wee-Howin Wong Jia Hao (Sgp) 21-14, 21-10; Lee Fang-Chih-Lee Fang-Jen (Tpe) bt Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (Ina) 21-14, 18-21, 21-15; Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri (Ina) bt Chen Boyang-Liu Yi (Chn) 21-17, 25-23; Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju (Kor) bt Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayahsi (Jpn) 21-18, 19-21, 21-11; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) 22-20, 21-19
Women’s singles: An Se-young (Kor) bt Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vie) 21-7, 21-6; Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) bt Unnati Hooda (Ind) 21-17, 21-9; Sim Yu-jin (Kor) bt Letshaana Karupathevan (Kor) 21-14, 21-8; Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-18, 19-21, 21-14; Gao Fangjie (Chn) bt Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 18-21, 21-12, 21-17; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-12, 21-12; Riko Gunji (Jpn) bt Kim Ga-eun (Kor) 21-17, 16-21, 21-12; Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt P.V. Sindhu (Ind) 21-18, 21-8
Women’s doubles: Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Hathaithip Mijad-Napapakorn Tungkasatan (Tha) 21-13, 18-21, 21-10; Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En-Tzu (Tpe) bt Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam (Hkg) 21-12, 21-15; Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) bt Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-17, 21-16; Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting (Mas) 21-18, 21-14; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Priya Konjengbram-Shruti Mishra (Ind) 21-10, 21-13; Rachel Allessya Rose-Febi Setianingrum (Ina) bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 16-21, 21-19, 21-9; Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-14, 21-10; Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) bt Hsu Yin-Hui-Lin Jhih Yun (Tpe) 21-19, 19-21, 24-22
Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah (Ina) 21-10, 21-15; Chen Cheng Kuan-Hsu Yin-Hui (Tpe) bt Goh Soon Huat-Jemie Shevon Lai (Mas) 21-10, 15-21, 16-21; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-9, 21-16; Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien (Mas) 21-8, 21-14; Yuta Watanabe-Maya Taguichi (Jpn) bt Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan (Tpe) 21-19, 24-22; Yang Po-Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang (Tpe) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 15-21, 21-15, 24-22; Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Ha-jeong (Kor) bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu (Ina) 23-21, 20-23, 21-10; Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto (Ind) 21-13, 21-14
