New Delhi, India: An Se Young returned to the top of the badminton world on Sunday, defeating defending champion Akane Yamaguchi in straight games to capture the women’s singles title at the 2026 BWF World Championships.
The South Korean world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion defeated Japan’s second-seeded Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14, claiming her second World Championships crown after her breakthrough triumph in Copenhagen in 2023.
The victory also ended Yamaguchi’s perfect record in World Championships finals. The Japanese star had previously reached the championship match three times and won on every occasion, taking the title in 2021, 2022 and 2025.
Sunday’s final finally broke that remarkable streak, with An delivering another composed performance on badminton’s biggest stage.
An Se Young Beats Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14
The women’s singles final brought together arguably the two most accomplished players of the current generation.
An entered the match as the reigning Paris Olympic gold medalist, 2023 world champion and world No. 1, while Yamaguchi arrived as the defending champion and a three-time winner of the World Championships.
The opening game was competitive as Yamaguchi used her speed, anticipation and defensive ability to stay within reach of the Korean.
An remained patient, however, refusing to be drawn into unnecessary errors during the longer rallies. She gradually created separation late in the game and closed it out 21-17.
The South Korean became even more authoritative in the second game.
Her movement and defensive coverage forced Yamaguchi to repeatedly play an additional shot, while An was also able to turn defense into attack whenever the opportunity appeared.
With Yamaguchi unable to find a sustained response, An pulled away to win 21-14 and reclaim the world title.
- Champion: An Se Young of South Korea
- Runner-up: Akane Yamaguchi of Japan
- Score: 21-17, 21-14
- Event: Women’s singles final
- Achievement: An Se Young’s second World Championships title
An Se Young Wins Second World Championships Crown
For the 24-year-old An, the victory adds another major championship to a career that has already reached extraordinary heights.
She first became world champion in Copenhagen in 2023 before going on to capture the biggest title of all at the Paris Olympic Games.
Now she has added a second World Championships gold medal to her collection.
An’s World Championships record now includes two gold medals and two bronze medals, further strengthening her position among the leading women’s singles players of her generation.
An Se Young Records 20th Victory Over Yamaguchi
The New Delhi final was also the 35th career meeting between An and Yamaguchi.
An’s victory gave the South Korean her 20th win in their long-running rivalry, underlining how evenly matched the two players have been across years of elite badminton competition.
Few rivalries in modern women’s singles have featured such a combination of consistency, major titles and contrasting playing styles.
Yamaguchi’s extraordinary retrieving ability and court coverage have made her one of badminton’s most difficult opponents, while An’s combination of defense, patience, physical endurance and increasingly powerful attack has helped her rise to the top of the sport.
Watch An Se Young vs Akane Yamaguchi Highlights
Watch highlights of the 2026 BWF World Championships women’s singles final between An Se Young and Akane Yamaguchi:
Akane Yamaguchi Misses Chance to Become Four-Time World Champion
For Yamaguchi, the defeat ended her attempt to create another piece of World Championships history.
The Japanese star had won the title in each of her previous three appearances in a World Championships final — in 2021, 2022 and 2025.
Victory in New Delhi would have given her a fourth women’s singles world title.
Instead, she leaves India with silver, but even in defeat Yamaguchi established another remarkable milestone.
Akane Yamaguchi Reaches Six World Championships Medals
Yamaguchi’s silver medal takes her career World Championships medal collection to six in women’s singles.
- Gold: 2021
- Gold: 2022
- Bronze: 2018
- Bronze: 2023
- Gold: 2025
- Silver: 2026
That gives Yamaguchi a career total of three gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships.
Her three gold medals put her level with Spain’s Carolina Marin for the most women’s singles World Championships titles, while her six overall medals move her beyond the five-medal totals achieved by several other great champions, including China’s Zhang Ning and Chen Yu Fei and India’s P.V. Sindhu.
Sindhu’s collection stands at one gold, two silver and two bronze medals, while Chen has accumulated two silver and three bronze medals.
An, meanwhile, now owns two world titles and two bronze medals.
Women’s Singles World Championships Medal Records Among Modern Greats
- Akane Yamaguchi of Japan: 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze – 6 medals
- P.V. Sindhu of India: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze – 5 medals
- Chen Yu Fei of China: 0 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze – 5 medals
- An Se Young of South Korea: 2 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze – 4 medals
While Yamaguchi missed the opportunity to win a fourth title, her consistency across multiple generations of challengers has produced one of the strongest World Championships records in women’s singles history.
Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee End South Korea’s 31-Year Wait
South Korea celebrated another world title in women’s doubles as Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee defeated defending champions Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China.
The third-seeded Korean pair delivered an outstanding performance against the world No. 1 combination, winning 21-15, 21-15.
Baek and Lee controlled the match from the opening stages and never allowed the Chinese top seeds to impose their preferred rhythm.
- Champions: Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee of South Korea
- Runners-up: Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning of China
- Score: 21-15, 21-15
- Event: Women’s doubles final
Baek-Lee Become Korea’s Second Women’s Doubles World Champions
The victory ended a remarkable 31-year wait for South Korea in the women’s doubles event.
Baek and Lee became only the second Korean combination to win the World Championships women’s doubles crown, following Gil Young Ah and Jang Hye Ock’s triumph in 1995.
The result also stopped Liu and Tan from successfully defending their title and prevented China from extending its women’s doubles World Championships winning streak to five consecutive editions.
Seventh Career Win for Baek-Lee Over Liu-Tan
Baek and Lee have developed a competitive rivalry with Liu and Tan, and Sunday’s championship match delivered another important victory for the Koreans.
It was their seventh career win against the Chinese pair, taking the head-to-head record to 7-11.
Baek and Lee had also defeated Liu and Tan in the women’s doubles final at last year’s BWF World Tour Finals.
That familiarity appeared to help them in New Delhi, where they handled the Chinese pair’s attacking pressure and remained disciplined throughout both games.
Lee So Hee Finally Becomes a World Champion
The victory was particularly meaningful for Lee So Hee.
She had previously reached the World Championships final in 2021 alongside Shin Seung Chan, only to lose to China’s Jia Yi Fan and Chen Qing Chen.
Five years later, Lee returned to the championship match with Baek Ha Na and this time completed the journey.
The straight-game victory gave both Baek and Lee their first senior world title.
Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue Make French Badminton History
Perhaps the most historic badminton news of finals day came in mixed doubles, where Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue became France’s first BWF World Champions.
The fifth-seeded French pair produced a sensational performance to defeat China’s world No. 1 combination Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping 22-20, 19-21, 21-15.
It was Gicquel and Delrue’s first career victory over the Chinese pair — and it could not have come on a bigger stage.
- Champions: Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue of France
- Runners-up: Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping of China
- Score: 22-20, 19-21, 21-15
- Event: Mixed doubles final
French Pair Win Dramatic Three-Game Final
The opening game immediately showed how closely contested the final would be.
Neither pair could establish a comfortable advantage, and the game moved beyond 21 points before Gicquel and Delrue edged it 22-20.
Feng and Huang responded in the second game, holding off the French pair 21-19 to force a decider.
With the world title reduced to one game, Gicquel and Delrue produced their best badminton of the match.
They established an early advantage, kept the pressure on the Chinese top seeds and eventually pulled away to win 21-15.
The final point completed a breakthrough not only for the partnership, but for French badminton as a whole.
From World Championships Bronze to Gold in One Year
Gicquel and Delrue had already demonstrated their ability to challenge the world’s best pairs at the previous World Championships.
They reached the semifinals in Paris before losing to Malaysia’s eventual champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei and settling for bronze.
One year later, the French pair returned stronger.
They became the first French badminton players to reach a senior World Championships final and then went one step further by becoming the country’s first world champions.
Huang Dong Ping Still Chasing World Championships Gold
The defeat was another near miss at the World Championships for Huang Dong Ping.
The 31-year-old Chinese star has already achieved Olympic glory, winning mixed doubles gold at the Tokyo Games alongside former partner Wang Yi Lyu.
However, the World Championships title remains missing from her collection.
Huang previously reached the 2018 final with Wang but finished runner-up to Chinese teammates Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong.
Her first World Championships final alongside Feng Yan Zhe also ended with a silver medal.
Feng Yan Zhe Falls Short in First World Championships Final
For Feng, New Delhi represented his first appearance in a World Championships final.
The Chinese pair had entered as world No. 1 and top seeds, but were unable to complete their campaign with the title.
The defeat also prevented China from reclaiming the mixed doubles world crown for the first time since Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong won the title in Tokyo in 2022.
Historic Finals Day at 2026 BWF World Championships
Finals day in New Delhi produced three very different championship stories.
An Se Young reaffirmed her position at the top of women’s singles by defeating one of badminton’s most decorated world champions and claiming her second global crown.
Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee ended South Korea’s 31-year wait for a women’s doubles world title with a dominant performance against the defending champions.
And Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue delivered a landmark moment for European badminton by becoming France’s first world champions.
An Se Young Adds Another Chapter to Her Growing Legacy
An entered the 2026 World Championships already possessing two achievements every badminton player dreams of: an Olympic gold medal and a world title.
She leaves New Delhi with another World Championships gold medal.
Beating Yamaguchi made the achievement even more significant. The Japanese star had never previously lost a World Championships final and was chasing a historic fourth crown.
An did not allow it to happen.
Her 21-17, 21-14 victory gives her world titles in 2023 and 2026 to go alongside her Paris Olympic gold medal, strengthening an already exceptional championship record at only 24 years of age.
Yamaguchi, meanwhile, leaves without a fourth title but with a sixth World Championships medal — another reminder of the Japanese star’s remarkable longevity at the very highest level of badminton.
Together, An Se Young and Akane Yamaguchi have become central figures in one of the most competitive eras women’s singles badminton has seen, and Sunday’s final in New Delhi added another memorable chapter to their rivalry.
