World champion Akane Yamaguchi dealt world No.1 An Se Young her first final defeat of the season on the Korean’s home turf and in the process, won her first HSBC BWF World Tour title of the year.

Yamaguchi has fallen in seven World Tour semifinals this year, but having regained confidence by winning the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2025, the Japanese proved too strong for the Korean today. In a rather one-sided contest, the three-time world champion beat the Olympic champion 21-18 21-13 for her first win over An in five contests this year.

“On the World Tour, I haven’t been able to make it to a final this year, so first of all, I was very happy that I was able to fight in the final here, and I was so glad at being able to challenge the current world No.1,” said Yamaguchi.

The Japanese had lost to the Korean last week in China, and Yamaguchi said she’d decided to play a more attacking game.

“Compared to past matches when I tried to rally and it didn’t go well, today I decided to be more aggressive and stay on the attack.”

Yamaguchi said winning the World Championships had helped her arrive in a better state of mind to challenge the dominant star.

“I was able to play well at the World Championships. It was because I had such a big target that I was able to prepare so well. I was able to prepare with a lot of awareness of myself, so in terms of preparation and effort towards the match, I was able to change myself, so I’m glad I had such a big goal.”

An, who was looking to win her third home title and her eighth of the season, was disappointed with her performance.

“I should have achieved a better result, especially with so many spectators coming to watch but I feel I ended up playing a somewhat disappointing match,” said the top seed.

Having beaten Yamaguchi the previous week in China, An said the match turned out differently today.

“Last time I was the one leading the game a bit more, this time Akane and I played at such a high speed that it was hard for me to keep up.”

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

» While An failed in her quest for an eighth title this year, her compatriots Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae achieved that target. The Koreans held off Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Fajar Alfian in a close second game, 21-16 23-21.

» Jonatan Christie achieved his first title of the year overcoming Anders Antonsen 21-10 15-21 21-17.

» Top seeds Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping continued their dominance over compatriots Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin, improving their record to 12-2 with a 23-21 21-11 result.

» In women’s doubles, Kim Hye Jeong/Kong Hee Yong won their fourth title of the season beating Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi 21-19 21-12.

→ Results

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“It’s unbelievable. It wasn’t easy for me and my team to get back at this level against Anders, who has good experience. He’s also world No.2, so I’m very happy. Thank you so much to the fans for supporting me and waiting for me to get back to this level. Hopefully there’s more to come. This is for you guys.” – Christie

“I tried out some different ways of playing this week that I usually don’t do. So it’s been a good week. I wasn’t sure if I will come here and I ended up in the final, so I’m happy with that.” – Antonsen

“First of all, I think it was possible because we kept the mindset of giving our best in every single moment — from the first round all the way to the final, that attitude never changed. And even when things weren’t going well, we kept communicating and supporting each other, which led to a good result.” – Won Ho