An Se-young, the badminton "queen" of South Korea, made a smooth start to her bid for a world championship title in her return to the court from injury.
An, the world's top-ranked women's singles player, beat 40th-ranked Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria 2-0 (21-14, 21-13) in the round of 64 at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships in New Delhi, India, on the 17th local time, advancing to the round of 32.
The match was An's first since returning from injury. After feeling pain in her left foot at the Japan Open in July, she postponed international competition to focus on rehabilitation.
Despite it being her first competitive match in about a month, An played up to her reputation. Level at 9-9 early in the first game, she scored six straight points to open up a commanding lead. In the second game, tied at 11-11, she seized control with five consecutive points.
The World Championships, which run through the 23rd, rank alongside the Summer Olympics as the sport's most prestigious and coveted stage.
An made history at the 2023 Copenhagen tournament as the first South Korean to win the women's singles title. At last year's Paris event, she was edged out by Chen Yufei of China in the semifinals and took bronze. She is now aiming to reclaim the title after three years.
Meanwhile, Kim Ga-eun of Samsung Life Insurance, ranked 12th in the world and also competing in women's singles, cruised past Egypt's Nour Ahmed Youssri (ranked 128th) 2-0 (21-7, 21-5) in just 23 minutes to join the round of 32.
