KUALA LUMPUR: One down, and possibly 10 or more to go.
World No. 1 An Se Young began her 2025 season in style by clinching the Malaysia Open title on Sunday, setting her sights on an ambitious target — securing at least 11 titles this year.
The 22-year-old South Korean was in imperious form at the Axiata Arena, dismantling China's Wang Zhi Yi 21-17, 21-7 in just 45 minutes to successfully defend her crown.
The victory was particularly sweet as it snapped a two-match losing streak against the world No. 2, including last month's semi-final defeat at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
Se Young now holds a commanding 9-4 head-to-head record against Zhi Yi.
"I take every defeat in my stride. I learn from it and overcome it. The past doesn't matter — what's important is the present," said Se Young, a gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics.
"This time, I just tried to be persistent with my own game plan, and this led to my victory today."
Having seemingly put her knee injury concerns behind her, Se Young is now aiming to rewrite the record books.
Despite already conquering every major title, the South Korean ace wants to surpass her remarkable 2023 achievement of 10 titles, a year that saw her clinch the World Championships, Asian Games and the All England title for the first time.
Her haul of 10 titles fell just one short of Japan's Kento Momota's record of 11 titles in a calendar year, which is recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records.
"Setting a record is very meaningful to me. And since this is just the beginning, I'm really excited to see what kind of records I'll be able to achieve going forward," Se Young said.
"Winning always gives me tremendous confidence and brings me the greatest joy. I really want to win, and breaking my own record is something I want to continue doing.
"For the 10-title record, I want to possibly try to win the 11th and beyond. I guess I'm quite ambitious."