A rising star in Paris
Badminton Queen Ahn Se-young
The humiliation of defeat in the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals
No, after all the hard work, she is ranked 1st in women’s singles
Advertising recruitment exam… Gold challenge after 28 years
In December 2017, Korean badminton announced the birth of an unprecedented genius. At the age of 15 years, 10 months, and 20 days, a girl who was a third-year student at Gwangju Sports Middle School at the time, showed off an overwhelming performance of 7 wins in the women’s singles of the national team selection, against adult players such as Lee Jang-mi. It was the moment when the youngest national badminton team member of all time was born. The protagonist was Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life), the current ‘Queen’ of badminton. Ahn Se-young, who has already risen to the top as the world’s strongest player, has completed preparations to deliver a golden smash at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is 23 days away.
This is already Ahn Se-young’s second Olympic stage. Ahn Se-young, who challenged the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, lost to her ‘natural enemy’ Chen Yufei (China) in the quarterfinals. Ahn Se-young, whose skills were not yet mature, shed tears of regret immediately after being eliminated. Chen Yufei won the gold medal in Tokyo.
Pickling that makes you forget the pain Badminton national team’s ‘signboard’ Ahn Se-young is receiving a smash from Kim Ga-eun with her right knee taped during the mock match of the 2024 Paris Olympics badminton women’s singles held at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village in Chungcheongbuk-do on the 25th of last month. Jincheon = Yonhap News
Three years later, Ahn Se-young has risen to the top of the women’s singles world rankings and has emerged as a strong candidate for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. It was all the result of hard work fueled by tears. Ahn Se-young, who had repeatedly failed to surpass rivals such as Chen Weifei and Yamaguchi Akane (Japan) on the international stage, focused on rigorous weight training starting in the winter of 2022. She built up her stamina and increased her speed and strength at the same time. As a result, Ahn Se-young’s talent blossomed. Last year, she swept the international stage from the India Open to the All England Open, the World Championships, and the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The variable is injury. The aftereffects of the knee injury suffered in the final against Chen Weifei at the Asian Games are still there. However, Ahn Se-young showed her will to overcome it by saying, “I have to get used to the pain.” Ahn Se-young, who is recovering her athletic ability, finished her warm-up by winning the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Singapore Open last month and finishing as runner-up in the Indonesia Open.
Amid the aftermath of her injury, Ahn Se-young, who has a challenge to overcome her natural enemy Cheon Wi-fei, is putting her unique mentality first. After winning the gold medal at the Asian Games last year, she turned down all the love calls from the advertising industry, saying, “I have a goal to reach.” She simply walked toward Paris, dreaming of a “romantic ending,” and now only the main stage remains.
An Se-young said, “In Paris, I want to show my ceremonies more often with a smile rather than crying,” and confidently said, “I’m worried that I might sound too confident and feel a little pressured, but it’s my confidence in the training I’ve done.” She continued, “People might think of me as an ordinary player who has reached a high level, but I’ve overcome many trials and tribulations, even things I didn’t have to go through, to get here. I hope that this Olympics will be an opportunity for me to shake off everything (by definitely winning a gold medal) and play badminton comfortably.”
The first and last time that Korean badminton won a gold medal in the women’s singles at the Olympics was when ‘legend’ Bang Soo-hyun won in the 1996 Atlanta Games. If Ahn Se-young wins a gold medal in Paris, she will leave a new mark in the history of Korean badminton after 28 years.
2024-07-02 14:08:38
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