Singapore Open badminton champion An Se-young wants a ‘perfect’ 2025

SINGAPORE – On the badminton court, South Korean star An Se-young is a fiery figure with her trademark headband, battle cry and fist pumps.

Despite sporting a softer look at an interview with The Straits Times on May 27, her killer instinct and winner’s mentality remain.

After winning four straight titles on the Badminton World Federation World Tour in 2025, the 23-year-old declared that she wants to stay unbeaten the entire season as the two-time winner defends her title at the US$1 million (S$1.29 million) KFF Singapore Open.

An, the women’s singles world No. 1 and reigning Olympic and world champion, said: “The prospect of staying unbeaten definitely motivates me. All I can do is to train more, work harder and prepare more. My mindset is always to try my best to be perfect.”

Competing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 27, she overcame the tricky draught to turn a 6-11 first-game deficit into a 21-16, 21-14 over China’s 14th-ranked Gao Fangjie to take her winning streak to 26 matches.

She will meet Yeo Jia Min in the last 16 on May 29, after the Singaporean beat Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-14, 21-13.

Her rivals should take note that An has been on such imperious runs before, winning 31 matches in a row in 2023 – when she won 10 titles, including the world championship and Asian Games gold.

Her prowess is real, but so is the pressure.

She said: “I will ask my coaches and staff how to relieve the stress... They may tell me simple things like move faster, or don’t give the lead to the opponent. These simple instructions help to clear my mind on the court.

“I try to be calm whenever I’m playing the game. So, whenever the match has ended, sometimes I just explode and celebrate with all my emotions. This also acts as stress relief, so I can focus on my next match.”

She also enjoys exploring the cities that she is playing in.

“I do enjoy shopping and cafe hopping. Whenever I go to another country, I always look for ‘Instagrammable’ cafes with nice vibes. Because of my friendship with Jia Min, she has brought me to nice places in Singapore and we had good food like bak kut teh and chilli crab,” she said.

Achieving her quest for perfection also means managing the number of tournaments she competes in. Along with the Sudirman Cup, An has competed in just five tournaments in 2025.

Comparatively, China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi has played seven events, while Japan’s eighth-ranked Tomoka Miyazaki and Thailand’s world No. 10 Ratchanok Intanon have played 10.

“This is a strategic move to maintain my stamina throughout the whole year, and even throughout my whole career. So, I would like to focus on the more important tournaments. Now, I feel good and my condition is perfect,” said An.

The Gwangju native, who started playing badminton at seven, has also found her voice after years on tour and competing in national colours.

After claiming Olympic gold, she publicly criticised the South Korea national team’s training methods as outdated and predominantly focused on doubles players.

She also took issue with being forced to play through pain after a knee injury at the Asian Games in 2023, and the slow medical response following an ankle injury before the Paris Olympics.

Despite rumours of her turning independent, she remains with the national side, with whom she trains six hours a day. She also trains with the Samsung Life Insurance Badminton Club.

She told ST: “Recently, there are a lot of changes in a good direction with the national team, and they require the players to take more responsibility for their performance.

“Previously, I spent more time on recovery but, nowadays, I have more intense training so that I can build up more stamina.”

Nicknamed “Rambo” by some fans and commentators for her headband and aggressive play, An said she had aired her views because she “wanted to see some issues addressed so that things could move in a better direction”.

She is also aware of her responsibility to “have a positive impact on other players and juniors”.

On court, she continues to make an impact with her achievements. Having won almost every major women’s singles title except the Badminton Asia Championships, she does not plan to stop.

She said: “There are still tournaments I haven’t won yet, so I would like to win those, and if there is a chance, I want to win the big tournaments I’ve already won a second time.”