Korean Team Seeks Repeat Success in Birmingham

The Korean national badminton team, coached by Park Joo-bong, departed for Birmingham, England, on February 27th to compete in the All England Open (March 3-8). The tournament, in its 116th year, is the oldest and most prestigious badminton competition globally.

The All England Open (Super 1000) is one of the four highest-level tournaments in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour, offering a total prize pool of $1.45 million (approximately 2.06 billion won).

Returning Champions and Key Players

Korea aims to replicate last year’s success with the return of Seo Seung-jae (men’s doubles) and Lee So-hee (women’s doubles) after recovering from injuries. In 2025, Korea secured gold medals in women’s singles (Ahn Se-young) and men’s doubles (Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho), along with a bronze in mixed doubles (Lee Jong-min and Chae Yu-jeong).

Ahn Se-young Eyes Historic Back-to-Back Titles

All eyes will be on Ahn Se-young, the world’s No. 1 women’s singles player, as she attempts to become the first Korean to win the singles title at the All England Open in consecutive years. Korea has previously achieved back-to-back titles in men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles, but never in singles.

Ahn Se-young’s current form is exceptional. She has won all three international competitions she entered this year – the Malaysia Open, the India Open, and the Asian Team Championship – and six consecutive tournaments including the Denmark Open, French Open, and 2025 BWF World Tour Finals.

Her 2025 season was record-breaking, tying the most wins in a single season (11) and achieving the highest winning percentage (94.8%, 73 wins, 4 losses).

Challenges and Potential Matchups for Ahn Se-young

Ahn Se-young is seeded No. 1 and is expected to face relatively straightforward opponents until the semifinals, where a potential clash with Chen Yu-fei (World No. 3, China) looms. A quarterfinal match against Putri Kusuma Wardani (World No. 6, Indonesia) is also possible, but Ahn Se-young has a 9-0 record against her.

She may also face fellow Korean players, Kim Ga-eun and Shim Yu-jin, in the round of 16 or quarterfinals, presenting an emotional challenge.

A final showdown with Wang Zhiyi (World No. 2, China) could be the ultimate test, with Ahn Se-young aiming for a tenth consecutive championship.

Seo and Kim, Lee Ready to Compete

Seo Seung-jae and Won-ho Kim, the world’s No. 1 men’s doubles team, are also aiming for a second consecutive title. Seo Seung-jae recently recovered from a shoulder injury sustained during the Malaysia Open quarterfinals.

Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport), a women’s doubles mainstay, has also recovered from a thigh injury and is prepared to compete alongside Baek Hana (Incheon International Airport), aiming to reclaim the top spot after 2024.