Korea’s Badminton Triumph: How An Se-young Led the Team to Uber Cup Glory Against China
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Third title overall, tied for third-most championships
‘Ace’ An Se-young celebrates her second Uber Cup title since 2022
South Korea’s women’s badminton team toppled rival China to reclaim the 2026 World Women’s Team Championships (Uber Cup) crown, their first in four years.
The Korean squad defeated China 3-1 in the final in Horsens, Denmark, on May 3 (local time).
The Uber Cup, held every two years, is the premier women’s team event in badminton. Each tie consists of three singles matches and two doubles.
Korea, which previously won the Uber Cup in 2010 and 2022, secured its third overall title with this victory — its first in four years. With three championships, Korea now sits tied for third all-time behind China (16) and Japan (6).
South Korea started with its No. 1 singles player, An Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance). An dominated Wang Ziyi, closing out a straight-sets victory, 2–0 (21–10, 21–13).
An did not drop a single game throughout the tournament, winning every match from the three group-stage contests through the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
Having entered the 2025 final with an 8–0 record against Wang Ziyi, An added another win this year — excluding her loss in the All England Open final — improving their head-to-head to 20–5 in her favor.
An also shed earlier Uber Cup disappointment. In her first appearance in 2022, Korea won the title but An lost her opening match to Chen Yufei, 1–2. She missed the 2024 tournament due to injury; Korea then fell to Indonesia in the semifinals and finished third, failing to defend the crown.
Korea hit an early bump when first doubles pair Lee So-hee and Jung Na-eun dropped their match to Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, 0–2 (15–21, 12–21).
But second singles player Kim Ga-eun flipped the momentum, beating Chen Yufei 2–0 (21–19, 21–15). Kim kept constant pressure on the world No. 1 and sealed the crucial win.
The victory was sealed by the second doubles pairing Kim Hye-jung and Baek Ha-na. After dropping the first game to Gai Yifan and Zhang Shuxian, Kim and Baek rallied to take the second and third games and clinch the match.
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