An Seyoung began her 2025 BWF Sudirman Cup Finals campaign with a hard-fought 21-16, 23-21 victory over Michelle Li, helping the Republic of Korea secure a 4-1 win over Canada on Monday (28 April).
The world number one in women’s badminton had been rested for her team’s opening match in Xiamen, China, on Sunday, when Sim Yujin played in the women’s singles rubber against Czechia. However, An was called upon to face the tougher challenge of world number 21, Michelle Li.
The two players were closely matched in the first game, tied at 14-14, before An managed to pull away, taking seven of the last nine points to win. The second game was equally competitive, with Li gaining small leads which An quickly erased. Despite Li saving two match points at 19-20 and 20-21, An sealed the win with two straight points, finishing the match in 55 minutes.
An’s victory leveled the overall team score at 1-1 after Jeon Hyeok-Jin lost his men’s singles rubber to Victor Lai. However, the Republic of Korea bounced back, winning all three doubles matches to complete a second 4-1 victory in the tournament.
With two wins from two matches, Republic of Korea will face Chinese Taipei on Wednesday in a final group match that will likely determine their seeding for the quarter-finals. A top-two finish in Group B is guaranteed if Chinese Taipei defeats Czechia later on Monday.
In other action, Malaysia, missing the injured Lee Zii Jia, defeated France 5-0 in Group C, while Japan achieved the same result against Australia in the same group.
In the afternoon session, host nation China, with Olympic champion Chen Yufei and men’s world number one Shi Yuqi, will take on Hong Kong China.
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