An Se-young continued her remarkable rise by spearheading South Korea to their first-ever Asia Team Championships title.
The world No. 1 set the tone in the final against an under-strength China side, cruising past world No. 38 Han Qianxi 21-7, 21-14 in just 39 minutes at the Qingdao Conson Gymnasium.
China opted to rest several top stars, including world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, world No. 3 Chen Yufei and world No. 1 women’s doubles pair Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning. Despite that, they still mounted stiff resistance in the opening doubles and second singles matches.
South Korea’s makeshift pairing of Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong were pushed hard in the first doubles, edging the opening game 24-22 against world No. 4 Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian before dominating the second 21-8 in a 70-minute encounter.
In the second singles, world No. 17 Kim Ga-eun was tested by world No. 127 Xu Wenjing but recovered from dropping the first game to win 19-21, 21-10, 21-17 after 68 minutes, sealing the decisive point for South Korea.
The victory ended South Korea’s long wait for the title since the tournament began in 2016, after finishing runners-up in 2020 and 2022 to Japan and Indonesia respectively.
The triumph also underlined their ambitions ahead of the Uber Cup Finals, which they last won in Bangkok in 2022. This year’s Uber Cup will take place from April 24 to May 3 in Horsens, Denmark, with China defending the title they claimed in Chengdu in 2024.
