An Se-young becomes first woman to win back-to-back Asian Games singles gold

An Se-young beat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-9 to claim the women’s singles gold at the Asian Games 2026 final at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture on Tuesday, September 29, becoming the first woman to win consecutive Asian Games singles gold medals.

The South Korean is the world No. 1 and the victory at Aichi-Nagoya was her second straight Asian Games title, following her gold at Hangzhou 2022. She entered the tournament having lost just once in 2026. The final was part of her campaign to add to an already prolific season.

A social media post cited by the report noted the win was her 54th individual title and extended a run of 40 consecutive wins, saying she had surpassed Susi Susanti’s record of 53. The article also stated the victory took her international tournament wins to 46, leaving her tied with Susi Susanti. In August she captured the BWF World Championships title.

An’s route through the draw was quick in earlier rounds: she defeated Kazakhstan’s Kamila Smagulova in 17 minutes in the first round, beat Sri Lanka’s Ranithma Liyanage in 32 minutes in the Round of 16, and overcame Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in 31 minutes in the quarter-finals. She then beat China’s Chen Yufei in the semi-finals in 38 minutes to set up the final with Yamaguchi.

The final lasted 49 minutes, An’s longest match of the tournament. Yamaguchi started strongly and led 6-3, but An levelled at 8-8 and moved ahead to 16-13; Yamaguchi drew level at 16-16 before An closed the first game 21-17. In the second game An opened 4-0, Yamaguchi responded with a seven-point run to lead 9-4, and An then pulled away to seal the match 21-9.

Her victory made her the first player to defend the women’s singles title at the Asian Games, the report adding that she was the first player to achieve this feat since 1962. The win gave her consecutive Asian Games women’s singles gold medals in 2022 and 2026.

The Aichi-Nagoya gold also contributed to her pursuit of a second career Grand Slam, which the article defines as winning the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships.