KUALA LUMPUR – South Korea’s badminton queen An Se-young picked up from where she left off as she opened her 2026 season by clinching the Malaysia Open title on Jan 11.

At the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, the world No. 1 defeated second-ranked Wang Zhiyi of China 21-15, 24-22 to win a third consecutive crown at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 1000 tournament.

In the process, the 23-year-old also extended her dominance over 25-year-old Wang, having won all eight of their encounters in 2025, the most recent of which came in the title-decider of the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou in December.

An, who did not have to play in the Malaysia Open semi-finals on Jan 10 after China’s Chen Yufei pulled out with an injury, had racked up a record 11 titles in a stellar 2025 season.