An Se-young of South Korea celebrates after defeating Japan's Yamaguchi Akane in the women's singles final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday. An defended her title from the 2022 Hangzhou Games to become the first player to win back-to-back women's singles gold in Asian Games badminton history. (Yonhap)
An Se-young of South Korea celebrates after defeating Japan's Yamaguchi Akane in the women's singles final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday. An defended her title from the 2022 Hangzhou Games to become the first player to win back-to-back women's singles gold in Asian Games badminton history. (Yonhap)

An Se-young, the world's top-ranked badminton player, has achieved an unprecedented feat — becoming the first athlete in Asian Games history to win back-to-back women's singles titles.

An defeated world No. 3 Yamaguchi Akane of Japan 2-0 (21-17, 21-9) in the women's singles final at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday.

The reigning Hangzhou 2022 gold medalist capped a dominant season in which she went 57-1, writing a new chapter in Asian Games badminton history with her consecutive title defense.


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