BWF World Championships Review: South Korea claim three golds
Seo Seung Jae won two world titles at the BWF World Championships 2023 in Copenhagen as South Korea claimed three goals.
Alongside mixed doubles partner Chae Yu Jung, the South Koren defeated the 2023 Yonex All England Open winners Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong.
Seo then tasted victory in the men’s doubles with Kang Min Hyuk, beating home favourites Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark.
The fifth seeds in the mixed doubles, Seo and Chae withstood a fightback from the top-ranked Chinese pairing of Zheng and Huang to claim their first-ever world medals with a 21-17 21-10 21-18 win.
Seo and Chae were only behind once in the first game but did not have it all their own way as Zheng and Huang fought back to parity in a rematch of the 2023 All England final.
The YONEX All England Open 2024 returns to the Utilita Arena Birmingham 12-17 March. Tickets on sale 15th September. Save the date!#YAE24@yonex_uk @yonex_jp pic.twitter.com/41Wnfwbo0N
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) August 15, 2023
With the second game, and the match, in the balance at 7-6 to the defending champions, Zheng and Huang won 13 of the next 14 points on their way to forcing a decider.
There, Seo and Chae opened an early six-shot lead that was wide enough to keep their opponents at bay, even if they needed four match points to close out the biggest wins of their career so far.
Completing the mixed doubles podium were three-time All England champions Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan and China’s Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.
Seo then ended the day back on top of the podium, partnering Kang to a 14-21 21-15 21-17 win over Astrup and Rasmussen.
After falling behind to their Danish opponents in the first game, Seo and Kang found their groove, claiming the second game with seven straight points.
It was an equally professional display in the decider as they kept Astrup and Rasmussen at bay to secure a first World title together and end a special day for Seo.
The bronze medals went to Aaron Chie and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia and China Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
2023 All England champion An Se Young was dominant on her way to the women’s doubles title, defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games.
The South Korean was never behind as she twice built up big leads in the first game but she really came alive in the second.
The two players were locked at 10-10 as Marin had looked to have found her way into the match only for An to ruthlessly claim the final 11 points of the game to seal her’s and South Korea’s first women’s singles world title after winning bronze last year.
World no. 1 becomes World Champion.
Determination pays off today as An Se Young claims her first ever World Championship title.
#BWFWorldChampionships2023 #TeamYonex #FarBeyondOrdinary pic.twitter.com/lna4dHLFgP— Yonex Badminton (@yonex_badminton) August 27, 2023
Defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan shared the bronze with the woman she beat for gold last year Chen Yu Fei of China.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn won a marathon match against Kodai Naraoka to seal the men’s singles title 19-21, 21-18 21-7 in 109 minutes.
The Thai shuttler fought back numerous times in a close first game, doing the same in the second before winning three straight points to force a decider.
There, he was utterly dominant as his Japanese opponent’s resolve ran out as Vitidsarn won eight and then 10 points in a row to upgrade last year’s silver to gold.
India’s Prannoy H. S. shared the bronze medal with Anders Antonsen of Denmark as the Danes claimed two medals as hosts.
Women’s doubles top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan defended their title for the second time as they defeated Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
The world No.1s earned their fourth world title with a 21-16 21-12 defeat of their Indonesian opponents who had defied the odds as the 11th seeds.
Chen and Jia moved into the lead at 5-4 in the first game and were never behind again, closing out the gold medal match with four consecutive points.
South Korea also claimed women’s doubles bronze with Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong sharing the third step of the podium with Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu of China.
