South Korea's women's national badminton team has advanced to the final of the 2026 Asian Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championship, leaving just one step to claim their first-ever title in the tournament.
The women's team defeated Indonesia 3-1 in the semifinal held at Consun Gymnasium in Qingdao, China, on Wednesday. World No. 1 An Se-young (Samsung Life) was not included in the lineup for the match as part of energy management.
In the opening women's singles match, Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life, world ranking 17th) dominated Talita Ramadani Wiryawan (67th) 2-0 (21-4, 21-5). The doubles pair of Baek Ha-na (Incheon International Airport) and Kim Hye-jung (Samsung Life) followed with a commanding 2-0 (21-14, 21-10) victory over Rachel Alesia Rose and Febby Setianingrum.
Korea momentarily stumbled when Park Ga-eun (Gimcheon City Hall, 70th) lost 0-2 (14-21, 13-21) to Ni Kadek Dinda Amartya Pratiwi (67th) in singles. However, the doubles pair of Lee Seo-jin (Incheon International Airport) and Lee Yeon-woo (Samsung Life) clinched the semifinal victory by defeating Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti 2-0 (21-19, 21-19), securing Korea's ticket to the final.
Having swept Singapore 5-0 and Taiwan 4-1 in the group stage and demolished Malaysia 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Korea has already secured qualification for the Uber Cup, the world women's team championship to be held in Denmark in April.
Held every two years, this tournament is the most prestigious team competition in Asia and serves as the Asian qualifier for the world team championships. Teams finishing in the top four earn berths in the main draw. Korea will face China in the final for the championship trophy.
Korea's best results in this tournament were runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2022. If they overcome China on Thursday, they will become the first Korean women's team to claim the Asian team championship title.