An Se Young beats Akane Yamaguchi to claim second World Championships title in New Delhi

An Se Young beat Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 to win the women’s singles title at the BWF World Championships at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, securing her second world championship. The World No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion completed the match in 49 minutes.

Chants of "Let's go, An Se Young, let's go," echoed around a packed stadium after 8,000 people had turned up on Saturday to support home players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand; the stands were full again on Sunday for An. She entered the tournament carrying a foot injury that had kept her out of action for a month and required time on court to find rhythm.

The final was expected to be another marathon in the long rivalry — the pair were meeting for the 35th time on tour — but An dominated with sustained aggression, not allowing Akane Yamaguchi to settle into a rhythm. An repeatedly took risks and went for the finish, using deft drops and sharp net play from the forecourt to open up her opponent.

An did not drop a game during the week and required more than an hour on court only once, in her semi-final victory over World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China. Her semi-final win over Wang preceded the straight-games victory over Yamaguchi in the final.

After the match An struck a bravo pose for cameras, walked to a section of the crowd and hit the shuttle into the stands, keeping her bandana on — a contrast to Saturday when she removed her famous 'Rambo' bandana and threw it into the crowd after beating Wang. She acknowledged the Delhi crowd throughout the week by waving and bowing toward the stands.

An's record in India includes India Open titles in 2023, 2025 and 2026, and she remains unbeaten in completed matches on Indian soil. Her career résumé cited in New Delhi also notes she was South Korea’s first-ever women's singles World champion in Copenhagen in 2023, completed an Asian Games individual and team double in Hangzhou, and has won more than 30 BWF World Tour titles, including multiple All England, Malaysia and Singapore Open crowns.

The New Delhi victory adds a second World Championships title to An Se Young's trophy collection and reinforces the sequence of major honours already listed on her résumé.