South Korean women’s badminton standout Ahn Se-young (21-Samsung Life Insurance) has become the No. 1 women’s singles player in the world after winning her seventh title of the season at the Japan Open.
According to the Korea Badminton Federation (KBF), Ahn earned 103,914 World Ranking points, surpassing Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (101,917) to take the top spot in the women’s singles rankings.
This is the first time a South Korean player has been ranked No. 1 in women’s singles since 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalist Hwang Soo-hyun.
Ahn defeated China’s He Bingjiao 2-0 (21-15 21-11) in the women’s singles final of the BWF World Tour Super 750 Japan Open in Tokyo, Japan, the day before.
With her second consecutive week at the top following the Korea Open, Ahn jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 in the world rankings.
Ahn has stepped up her game this year and is now dominating the women’s singles. She has won seven titles and finished runner-up three times in 11 tournaments this year. In the only tournament where she didn’t reach the final, she finished third.
In March, she won the All-Young Open, badminton’s most prestigious tournament, marking the first women’s singles title in 27 years since Hwang Soo-hyun in 1996.
Meanwhile, Ahn returned to Korea on Aug. 31 and moved into the Jincheon Athletes’ Village, 토토사이트 where she will prepare for the World Championships, which begin on Aug. 21 in Copenhagen, Denmark.