An Xiying (21 years old, Samsung Life) has won the World Championships for the first time in the history of badminton singles in South Korea. On the 27th, An Xiying, who ranked first in the women's singles world, won the women's singles final at the 2023 Badminton World Championships held at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. She swept world number six Carolina Marin (30 years old, Spain) 2-0 (21-12, 21-10) to win the championship.

In the quarterfinals two years ago and last year's semifinals, An Xiying was repeatedly blocked by her arch rival, Sai Yamaguchi (Japan), but this year she reached the highest position. Marin, the gold medalist of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, made a comeback in this competition, defeating Dai Ziying (Taipei, China, ranked fourth in the world) and Shan Kou Qian (ranked second in the world) consecutively, but failed to surpass An Xiying.

An Xiying is the first South Korean male and female athlete to dominate the singles event at the World Championships. The competition, which started in 1977, has entered its 28th edition this year. Korean singles players have only won second place and ninth place previously. In 1993, Fang Zhuxian made her debut in the final of the World Championships and won a silver medal. In 1995, Park Sung woo won the runner up in the men's singles.

More than 30 years have passed, and An Xiying has put an end to the undefeated history of the 46 year World Championships in South Korea's singles.

The World Badminton Championships, also known as the Thomas Cup, were held from 1977 to 1983 on a 3-year cycle, from 1985 to 2003 on a 2-year cycle, and from 2005 onwards, except for Olympic years, they were held every year.

In the final, An Xiying successfully took the lead with overwhelming competitive form in the first set. With solid defense, Marin, who had been dragged down, made frequent mistakes and the score expanded to 10-4 in just 4-4 seconds. After entering the interval break with a score of 11-7, An Xiying forcefully spiked and pushed her opponent into a dead corner. Sometimes, An Xiying adjusted the pace with exquisite serve and receive.

Ma Lin, who roared on the field after winning over Dai Ziying, was somewhat vulnerable in front of An Xiying

In the 19th to 12th, An Xiying insisted on capturing the right side of left-handed Ma Lin and obtained the game point. Afterwards, I watched the opponent's return ball go out of bounds and won the first game.

In the second game, An Xiying also led 7-2 in the early stages, performing similarly to the first game. But facing Marin's fierce attack, An Xiying has been eager to defend, watching Marin equalize the score to 10-10. At this point, Marin's mistake gave An Xiying a point, and the interval between the games also disrupted Marin's previous rhythm.

Although the inter bureau rest time was short, An Xiying successfully adjusted her wavering mentality and strategy. After the game restarted, An Xiying scored 10 consecutive points without allowing Ma Lin to score a single point, and the whole game ended in a blink of an eye.

An Xiying (from the right), Dai Ziying, Yamaguchi Qian, and Chen Yufei, who make up the top four women's singles team

After the award ceremony, An Xiying expressed her thoughts in English, saying, "Today I am the champion, winning the game is really happy." She then said in Korean, "Because I enjoyed it very much, I feel like I played badminton very well."