Seyoung Ahn
Korean badminton is slowing down. China, whose pride was crushed by being blocked by Korea in the Asian Games (AG), is gaining momentum.
Kim Ga-eun (25, Samsung Life Insurance), ranked 15th in the badminton women’s singles ranking, scored a game score against 3rd ranked Chen Yufei (China) in the women’s singles semifinal of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour China Masters (Super 750) held in Shenzhen, China on the 25th. Lost 0-2 (16-21, 15-21).
Cheon Yu-fei is a leading figure in Korean badminton and a rival to Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance), who is ranked No. 1 in the rankings. Kim Ga-eun also lost 1-2 to Chen Yufei in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou AG individual exhibition held in September and October.
Ga-eun Kim won the Korea Masters held last month and reached the top of the BWF Tour tournament in 4 years and 8 months. Although it was a Super 300 event with a low participation rate for top rankers, it was meaningful to Ga-eun Kim. However, she failed to continue her upward trend at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan, which she participated in last week, finishing in 9th place.
Korea performed well at Hangzhou AG, winning 7 medals (2 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze). However, since then, it has been losing ground to China on the international stage. Ahn Se-young received rehabilitation treatment for a knee injury for over a month, and the doubles group was defeated by China. Chen Yufei won back-to-back titles at the Danish Open and French Open.
It was the same at this China Masters. Ahn Se-young, who is currently not in perfect physical condition, lost 0-2 to China’s Wang Zhiyi (ranked 12th) in the singles round of 16 of this tournament held on the 23rd. In Ahn Se-young’s first competition of the year, she failed to reach the podium (3rd place finish).
Kim Ga-eun fought hard and faced Chen Yu-fei at the threshold of the finals, but eventually lost again. In Korea, only the mixed doubles team of Seo Seung-jae (26, Samsung Life Insurance) and Chae Yu-jeong (28, Incheon International Airport) reached the finals at this year’s China Masters. The finals will be held on the 26th against the Chinese team of Zheng Si-wei and Huang Ya-chong, who are ranked first in this event.
Reporter Ahn Hee-soo [email protected]
2023-11-25 23:48:50
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