An craves for more records after Ilth title

South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young overcame self-doubt and a cramped leg that “hurt every time she landed on it” to become the first women’s singles player to win 11 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour events in a calendar year, after her World Tour Finals success in Hangzhou on Dec 21.

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The only other player to reach that mark is retired former men’s singles world No. 1 and two-time world champion Kento Momota in 2019.

History was made for the 23-year-old An when she beat second-ranked Wang Zhiyi of China 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 in 1hr 36min at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium.

The 25-year-old must dread the sight of her rival, who has now beaten her in all eight of their meetings in 2025.

“I doubted whether I'd really be able to get to the Ilth win. I guess my belief was stronger than those doubts,” Yonhap News Agency quoted An as saying.

“It was a gruelling match. Towards the end, my leg hurt every time I landed on it, but I stuck to it through the end. I am really happy that I was able to finish with such a great result. I can’t even describe how I feel. My hard work has paid off, and I want to keep going for more records,” she declared.

The US$240,000 (S$310,000) winner’s cheque meant An also became the first player to rack up US$1 million in prize money in a single season, during which she also set a match-win record.