Source:EYEPRESS Images /F.L Wong
[Saba Sports News] In the women’s singles semifinal of the 2025 BWF World Championships, Chen Yufei defeated An Se Young 2-0 to advance to the final, with scores of 21-15, 21-17. This marks Chen Yufei’s second appearance in the World Championships women’s singles final, while the defending champion An Se Young will miss the chance to compete for a second consecutive title. After the match, An Se Young said in an interview: “I’m really completely exhausted now. Honestly, to protect my titles, I’ve done everything I could.” However, Korean media did not spare An Se Young, launching into various forms of sarcasm and criticism. Korean media outlet 《Tennis Korea》 wrote: “Badminton Queen An Se Young was swept by Chen Yufei, missing the title defense. The world number one player was swept by the world number four.” The article also stated: “An Se Young’s failure to reach the final as the 2023 Copenhagen World Champion is completely unacceptable, a ‘shocking’ defeat.” It further wrote: “Since January this year, An Se Young has won 6 titles: the Malaysia Open, India Open, Orleans Masters, All England Open, Indonesia Open, and Japan Open. But in the semifinal of the China Open held on July 26, An Se Young withdrew due to a knee injury, which was clearly a ‘bitter trick’ aimed at defending her World Championship title, as she recovered in a very short time. The result is that An Se Young abandoned the ‘Super Grand Slam’ [opportunity] but failed to successfully defend her World Championship title.”