An Se Young captured the only major title to have eluded her, as the Korean outplayed second seed Wang Zhi Yi for the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2026 title. An has now secured all titles available to a women’s singles player: the Olympics (2024 Paris), World Championships (2023 Denmark), Asian Games (2022 Hangzhou), World Tour Finals, and the four Super 1000 Series (England, China, Indonesia, Malaysia).
An’s 21-12 17-21 21-18 win also saw her avenge her loss in the YONEX All England final earlier this year.
“It was a very exhausting match,” said the winner. “My opponent was also tired, it was a long match, so I’m just very happy at winning. There were a lot of Korean fans cheering for me, so that helped.”
Like her, men’s singles top seed Shi Yu Qi also won his first Badminton Asia title, with the Chinese proving too strong for Indian youngster Ayush Shetty.
World No.25 Shetty had enjoyed an electric run to the final, beating players like Li Shi Feng, Chi Yu Jen, Jonatan Christie and Kunlavut Vitidsarn. However, Shi proved too formidable an opponent, keeping control of the proceedings and choosing the right moments to put in explosive bursts.
Shetty’s best phase was early in the second game as he went up 7-2, but Shi levelled with five straight points and there was never any doubt about the way the match was headed from that moment.
“Really grateful for the final,” said Shetty. “It was a fantastic week for me. It was a pity it had to end this way, I would have liked to have a great match. But looking back I was solid throughout the week.
“After the semifinal, the recovery was good; I was feeling great today, but Shi Yu Qi was solid today. He was hitting winners all over the court.”
Other Highlights
World champions Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae continued to exert their dominance of men’s singles, winning their first Badminton Asia title beating compatriots Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju 21-13 21-17.
Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min were crowned women’s doubles winners as opponents Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning retired at 5-8 down.
Korean qualifiers Kim Jae Hyeon/Jang Ha Jeong won the mixed doubles crown, with opponents Dechapol Puavarnukroh/Supissara Paewsampran unable to take the court due to injury.
Credits: BWF
