An Se‑young defends Asian Games women's singles crown with straight‑game win in Aichi‑Nagoya

An Se-young beat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-9 in the women’s singles final at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on September 29, 2026, successfully defending her gold medal. The World No. 1 completed an unbeaten individual campaign at the tournament.

Having taken the title at the Hangzhou Games, An became the first women’s singles player in Asian Games history to win consecutive gold medals; the women’s singles event has been contested since 1962 and no player had previously won the title at two straight editions. Her defence in Aichi-Nagoya therefore represented an unprecedented repeat in that discipline.

An recorded a flawless individual run in Aichi-Nagoya, winning all five of her matches without dropping a game. She beat Kazakhstan’s Kamila Smagulova, Sri Lanka’s Ranithma Liyanage, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, China’s Chen Yufei and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in straight games, producing a perfect 10-0 record in games during the individual competition.

Her victory in the final followed another win over Yamaguchi earlier in the event: An’s ninth consecutive win against the Japanese player came after defeating her in the women’s team semi-final, a tie in which South Korea went on to claim bronze. The head-to-head run extended An’s dominance over a recurring top opponent at the Games.

An’s Aichi-Nagoya title added to a series of career milestones. She became the third South Korean badminton champion to secure consecutive Asian Games golds after the mixed doubles pairs Park Joo-bong and Chung Myung-hee (1986 and 1990) and Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min (1998 and 2002), and she is the first South Korean to do so in women’s singles.

Earlier in 2026 An won the World Championships, and by claiming the Asian Games women’s singles gold she completed the World Championships–Asian Games double in the same calendar year; it was the second time she achieved that double, having previously done so in 2023. The Aichi-Nagoya victory also represented her 46th career international title, equalling the total held by Susi Susanti.

She finished 2026 with 56 wins from 57 matches, with just one defeat.