CHENNAI: Wang Zhi Yi must be sick of facing her tormenter An Se-young. The Chinese World No 2, facing the South Korean World No 1 for the 22nd time, was simply powerless as An, the biggest draw on the final day of the India Open, put up yet another masterclass. Despite the lack of Indian representation on the concluding day, a sizeable crowd had turned up at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. An, as she entered the court, drew the loudest cheers. It was far from a surprise as An has displayed superhuman abilities to dominate the women's circuit over the years.
Sunday was no different as Wang simply couldn't live with her opponent. Despite the loud cheers, An was laser-focussed as always and she took the match by the throat as usual. On paper, it was a battle between World No 1 and World No 2, but An, as has been the case in their recent meetings, showed there are levels in this game.
An had built a handy gap very soon but Wang did well to fight back. But An recalibrated, before bringing her A-game to finish off the final in 43 minutes, winning 21-13, 21-11. This was the 23-year-old's third India Open title after 2023 and 2025.
For Wang, it was her 18th defeat in 22 meetings. To add to her woes, it was her ninth defeat against An at the same stage of the competition since the start of 2025. "I'm so proud. I won the game. Thank you for supporting me, I'm so happy to show them (fans) my game," An said.
The Olympic champion is aware that she's a target for everyone. "I know everyone will do their best to win against me. I also do my best not to lose."
One of the forces behind An's power is Lee Hyun-il, a former men's singles World No 1. It's clear that An has worked on the physical aspect of the game in recent months. That is one of the key factors that has helped her swat aside rivals with relative ease. Lee said that the coaches prepare plans as per her requirements.
"We are doing the same training as we were doing. And we want her to be the best. She wants to play the attacking game more, she wants to be aggressive. So we are training according to that. We are doing power and weight management according to that," he said.
It's clear that An chases perfection. Both coach and An remarked about refining her attacking strokes. "The match against Ratchanok Intanon (in the semis) was perfect. But she felt it was not perfect. So we are doing our best to make her close to perfect. She has been working on her movements and attacking strokes," Lee said.
The coach also spoke about her attitude towards coaches, something that highlights her driven nature. "It's not about listening to the coach. As she wants to do her best, she tries whatever the coaches tell her. That's how she maintains her proficiency."
Two title wins in as many events this season, what An has been pulling off inside the badminton court is simply mind-boggling.
