Malaysia Open: An Off and Running

World No.1 An Se Young kicked off her season in style, clinching the PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2025 title at Axiata Arena on Sunday.

The Olympic gold medallist triumphed in convincing fashion, defeating Wang Zhi Yi 21-17 21-7 in just 45 minutes. The victory was particularly sweet for An, as it ended a recent losing streak to the Chinese shuttler who had bested her in their last two encounters.

In securing a second consecutive Malaysia Open crown, An became the first Korean women’s singles shuttler to win back-to-back editions of the 88-year-old tournament.

“I just found out about this. I’m very happy,” said the 22-year-old. “Starting the new year with a win feels refreshing.”

An admitted she was determined to halt her run against Wang but was careful not to let it cloud her preparations.

“I learned a lot from those losses,” she said. “The key was to quickly forget about them and take away the lessons. It’s important not to dwell on the past. I just wanted to play with full confidence and enjoy the match.”

Just last month, An lost to Wang in the semifinals of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. However, her dominant run in Kuala Lumpur – where she didn’t drop a game on her way to the title – could be an indicator of what’s to come this season.

Results (Finals)


WHAT OTHERS SAID

“This is only our third tournament together, we weren’t expecting a title so soon. We are excited to have achieved this, it’s a great start to 2025.”Mayu Matsumoto on her pairing with Yuki Fukushima after they claimed their first title

“The game plan was to wear them out. This match was more like a marathon in over 60 minutes. There were a lot of long rallies and during those long rallies, our energy level was a bit low and we made some mistakes but we actually had a chance to win.”Liu Yi after he and Chen Bo Yang lost to Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae 19-21 21-12 21-12

“We made some mistakes due to the eagerness to win the first game and that put us under stress. We were using a lot of energy so we couldn’t play our game. In the second and third games we used our energy effectively.”Seo Seung Jae on what it took to grab the title

“I enjoy fast drives and fast matches so I like men’s doubles more and that will be the focus I think for now.” – Kim when asked which discipline he prefers

“At times I was giving him the opportunity to make the spin way too easy (at the net). When he’s having ‘one of those days’ where his net shots are perfect, you cannot do that and I kept getting into that trap. If you are not totally mentally there, that’s some of the mistakes you tend to make.”Anders Antonsen on what cost him his final against Shi Yu Qi

“Chinese men’s singles haven’t won too many times in Malaysia so I used the experience from last year and the Hangzhou final. Winning the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year Award was unexpected and has motivated me to do well this year.” – Shi after beating Antonsen 21-8 21-15

Shi a happy man.

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