(LEAD) Badminton star An Se-young wins Korea Open for record-tying 11th int'l title

(ATTN: ADDS details, comments from para 9; CHANGES photo)

YEOSU, South Korea, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean badminton star An Se-young won her record-tying 11th international title of the year on home soil Sunday.

An, world No. 1, defeated second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the women's singles final at Yeosu Victor Korea Open at Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu, some 320 kilometers southwest of Seoul.

The Korea Open is the only South Korean event on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour.

This was An's 11th international victory of the year, tying the record first set by the men's singles player Kento Momota in 2019 and equaled by An herself in 2025.

This year, An has won eight tournaments on the BWF World Tour and gold medals at the Badminton Asia Championships, BWF World Championships and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

An has lost just once in 72 matches all season -- the lone defeat coming against Wang Zhiyi of China in the All England Open final in March.

An also extended her winning streak against Yamaguchi to 11 matches.

An considered skipping the Korea Open, citing fatigue, but chose to compete in front of home fans.

An, who lost to Yamaguchi in the 2025 Korea Open final, scored three straight points to pull away from a 9-9 tie in the first game. After Yamaguchi got a point back, An then reeled off seven more points in a row en route to a 21-12 win.

Yamaguchi seized early control in the second game by jumping out to a 4-0 lead, with An struggling to get to Yamaguchi's shots. Yamaguchi won the game 21-15, without once allowing An to pull into a tie.

In the deciding third game, An built an early 6-1 lead. Then holding an 11-9 lead, An scored five unanswered points. The Japanese player battled back but never got within three points the rest of the way.

At 19-16, An set up the match point with a diagonal winner and then clinched the title on Yamaguchi's errant return.

An, who previously won the Korea Open in 2022 and 2023, said she became emotional hearing rousing cheers from South Korean fans.

"I felt so happy knowing there are so many badminton fans here," An said of a sellout crowd of 3,500. "It is always great to win on home soil. I even got goose bumps hearing their cheers. I would like to thank these fans for their support. Sometimes during a match, I get discouraged when I make mistakes. But these fans helped me play with confidence even after errors."

On winning 11 titles in back-to-back seasons, An said, "I am proud of myself for this accomplishment.

"I think I have grown up mentally from last year," she added. "I have also learned how to turn things around when I am running on fumes."

An will take some time off before the BWF World Tour Finals, starting Dec. 9 in Hangzhou, China.

"I am not thinking all that much about setting the record," An said of her pursuit of her 12th title. "In my next tournament, I want to play the way I am capable of playing."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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