World No. 1 An Se Young thrilled 6,240 fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium by capturing consecutive titles at the Karim Family Foundation (KFF) Singapore Badminton Open presented by JK Technology. She defeated China’s world No. 2 Chen Yu Fei in a gruelling 77-minute match, winning 21-19, 16-21, 21-12.
In the opening game, both players were locked in a tight battle, with An eventually pulling ahead to secure a narrow 21-19 victory.
Chen responded with a commanding 21-16 win in the second game, but An dominated the final game from the outset, sealing the final game 21-12.
Ecstatic after a hard-fought victory, the 22-year-old Olympic champion said: “ This experience of playing my own game and becoming the champion before the Olympics is very important, especially in terms of preparing for the Olympics. It really boosts my confidence.”
Returning from a knee injury sustained at last month’s Thomas & Uber Cup, An reflected on her performance at KFF Singapore Badminton Open: “I think the biggest learning or biggest takeaway from this tournament is that I have a lot of confidence at the moment. For the Indonesia Open, I definitely want to win every single match. However, I just want to try to focus on each match by match. I just want to focus on my own game.”
In an all-China final, world No. 2 Shi Yu Qi triumphed over world No. 6 Li Shi Feng, in a thrilling match, coming from behind to win 17-21, 21-19, 21-19 in just under 90 minutes.
Despite losing the first game, Shi made a remarkable comeback in the second game, clinching it 21- 19 after a series of lead changes.
The third game was equally dramatic, with Shi overturning a significant deficit to win 21-19. His victory marks the first time in 13 years that a Chinese player has won the Singapore Badminton Open men’s singles title since Chen Jin in 2011.
Shi, who has a chance to dethrone Viktor Axelsen as the world No. 1 next week, said: “It hasn’t been easy, but I’m happy. I know this hall is a challenging venue for all players. This makes my hard work in this tournament all the more rewarding.”
China’s world No. 1 Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong claimed their first Singapore Badminton Open title and third title of the year, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang 21-11, 21-19.
While the first game was straightforward, the second game saw Yang and Hu push their opponents to the limit, saving four match points before Zheng and Huang secured the victory.
China’s Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan also defended their Singapore Badminton Open title with a dominant performance against Japan’s Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, winning 21-15, 21-12 in 50 minutes.
China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu made history when they secured their second BWF title of the year. Their win meant that China became the first nation to win four out of five events at the Singapore Badminton Open twice in the open era.
They performed brilliantly to defeat their high-ranked Indonesian opponents, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, winning with a score of 21-19, 21-14 after just 40 minutes.
Organised by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), the KFF Singapore Badminton Open is part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 series.
The tournament features the top 15 singles players and top 10 doubles pairs, all vying for prestigious titles and a share of the US$850,000 prize money.
