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 remains.

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, 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 Fang Jie to take her winning streak to 26 matches.

She will take on Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min or Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the last 16 on May 29.

Her rivals should take note that An has been on such imperious runs before, winning 31 matches in a row in 2023 – a year 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