South Korean women’s badminton standout Ahn Se-young has become the world’s No. 1 player for the first time.
The Korea Badminton Association announced that “Ahn Se-young, who recently won the Korea Open and Japan Open, has overtaken Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the BWF World Ranking points to become the No. 1 player in the world.”
This marks the first time in more than five years and five months that Ahn has been ranked No. 1 since February 2018, when she first earned World Ranking Points.
It is the first time in 27 years that a South Korean player has been ranked No. 1 in women’s singles since Hwang Soo-hyun in 1996.
Ahn won the women’s singles title at the Korea Open on Nov. 23, and then went on to win the Japan Open on Nov. 30 to rack up ranking points. Japan’s Yamaguchi, who was ranked No. 1 until recently, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
Ahn, who decided to skip the Australian Open to rest her body, moved into the Jincheon Athletes’ Village immediately after returning from Japan and will begin preparations for the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, 카지노사이트넷 in August and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September.