South Korea dethrone China as Uber Cup champions

HORSENS – South Korea won the Uber Cup for just the third time in history and second time in the past three editions, beating holders and record 16-time champions China 3-1 at Forum Horsens in Denmark on May 3.

Since their first title in 1984, China had failed to win only five of the 21 editions of badminton’s premier women’s team competition before the latest showpiece.

They came into the final in Denmark as overwhelming favourites, with their three singles players all ranked in the top five in the world, while their two pairs were world No. 1 and world No. 4.

But that enviable depth was unable to see them past the final hurdle.

And it meant China have failed to retain the Uber Cup since winning it for the third time in a row in 2016.

Things started well for the South Koreans, as world No. 1 An Se-young continued her domination over her closest rival, China’s second-ranked Wang Zhiyi, comfortably besting her again 21-10, 21-13 in 47 minutes.

It was the 24-year-old An’s 12th victory over the 26-year-old Wang in the past two years.

“I was very excited to win the first point for my team and really enjoyed the match,” An was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

Wang, meanwhile, admitted the pressure got to her, saying: “I lost energy during the long rallies and made more errors. It was my first time playing as first singles, and I felt more pressure and responsibility for the team.”

China, however, levelled proceedings in the first doubles, when world No. 1 Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning beat scratch pair Jeong Na-eun and Lee So-hee 21-15, 21-12 in 53 minutes.

Liu said: “There were some changes in our opponents’ line-up, which was a bit unexpected. But our approach is always simple – focus on our own game. No matter how the opponents change, we stay the same.”

Then came the upset of the tie.

South Korea’s world No. 17 Kim Ga-eun entered her second singles clash against 2020 Olympic champion and 2025 world championships runner-up Chen Yufei having lost her last five meetings against the Chinese, dating back to 2022.

But she managed to reverse that trend in straight games, beating the world No. 4 21-19, 21-15 in 55 minutes.

Said Kim: “At times I probably looked a bit down, and I know that was tough not only for me but also for people watching. It was frustrating. But now I’m really glad that I can smile again.

“When I started having too many negative thoughts, it felt like I was just going deeper and deeper. So I told myself to let it go, reset, and try again with a clearer mindset. That helped me focus better coming into today’s match.”

That meant China’s world No. 4 Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian had to win the second doubles to send the final to a deciding third singles.

They were up against another South Korean scratch pair in Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong – who have played just one tournament together.

Baek’s usual partner is Lee, and together they are the third-ranked duo in the world. Kim, meanwhile, is one half of the world No. 5 duo with Kong Hee-yong.

Jia and Zhang started strongly, winning the first game 21-16 to give China hope of sending the tie to a decider. But then Baek and Kim took control, winning the next two games comfortably 21-10, 21-13.

In the rubber game they were 20-9 up before sealing the tie on their fifth championship point.

That sparked South Korean celebrations. An was the first to rush onto the court to celebrate with the pair, with the rest of the team close behind.

They formed a winner’s circle, arms around each other, dancing in jubilation.

This is South Korea’s third title, after 2010 and 2022.

The heroine of 2022, Sim Yu-jin, who won the decider against Wang in the third singles back then, did not have to take the court this time around, other than for the celebrations.

The world No. 19 had been due to face the fifth-ranked Han Yue in the final match.