Oct 19 (Reuters) – Olympic badminton champion An Se-young became the sport’s most decorated women’s singles player on Sunday after the South Korean claimed her 47th international title at the Denmark Open.
An’s 21-23 21-14 21-18 win over Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the final in Odense took her clear of Susi Susanti of Indonesia, who won 46 titles before retiring in 1997.
Badminton’s governing body BWF noted that titles in regional games were excluded from the tally and that records had only been kept since 1989.
“I want to make a lot of history and break records but I focus on one match at a time,” said An, who has been ranked world number one for 105 consecutive weeks.
“That is my motivation. The crowds turn out for me and I’m happy people enjoy every match I play.”
An has won six singles titles on the BWF World Tour this year, while also winning gold medals at the Asian Games, world championships, Uber Cup and other regional tournaments.
The 24-year-old’s only defeat in 2026 came in the All England Open final in March when she lost to China’s Wang Zhiyi.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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