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(Xports News Reporter Kim Hyun-ki) Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), ranked No. 1 in the badminton world, failed to regain the top spot in the King of Kings Tournament for the first time in three years.
He once again bowed to Wang Ziyi, whom he defeated in his return match two months ago.
Ahn Se-young, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics badminton women’s singles gold medalist, defeated Wang Zhiyi (2nd place) with a game score of 0-2 (17 -21 was completely defeated (14-21).
The place where this competition was held is also where Ahn Se-young won the gold medal at the Asian Games last year. I tried to win by hitting the shuttlecock in a place full of good memories, but I couldn’t get past Wang Ziyi.
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Seyoung Ahn met Wang Zhiyi in the women’s singles final of the ‘BWF World Tour Super 750 Denmark Open’ held last October and lost with a game score of 0-2. At the time, the competition attracted attention because it was Ahn Se-young’s first international competition since the Paris Olympics. The runner-up finish was also successful, but Wang Zhiyi overwhelmed Ahn Se-young in the finals, and also held the Olympic champion back in the World Tour Finals.
The BWF World Tour Finals is a competition in which only eight players (teams), including Olympic champions and top-ranked players in international competitions held in one season, participate.
Ahn Se-young, Han Yue (China), Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), and Supanida Katetong (Thailand) belonged to Group B. Wang Ziyi (China), Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia), Ohori Aya (Japan), and Busanan Ongbamrungpan (Thailand) were placed in Group A.
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Ahn Se-young lost to Yamaguchi, the former world number one, but took first place in Group B by beating Hanwe and Kateton. In Group A, Ohori and Wang Ziyi took first and second place, respectively, and advanced to the semifinals.
Ahn Se-young set out to regain the top spot for the first time in three years since 2021, but stopped in the semifinals.
Ahn Se-young, who was behind 9-12 in game 1, lost control by conceding 4 points in a row and lost the game, played a see-saw game until the middle of game 2, but lost 4 points at 14-17, giving up the 21st point to her opponent and failing to advance to the finals. I had to accept it.
Se-young Ahn won the championship for the first time in her career in this competition in 2021, defeating Pusala Venkata Sindhu (India), a two-time Olympic medalist in a row, in the final.
In the 2022 tournament, they did not even reach the semifinals, losing to Yamaguchi and Chen Yufei (China).
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Last year, in the semifinals against rival Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan), they lost with a game score of 1-2 and were eliminated. Ahn Se-young stopped in the semifinals of two consecutive competitions.
The finals were organized as a match between Han Yue and Wang Ziyi, Chinese players.
Previously, Ahn Se-young was selected as ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ for two consecutive years at the BWF awards ceremony held just before this tournament. She was also selected as the Female Athlete of the Year by her fellow players.
Ahn Se-young won the Badminton Women’s Singles gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and won the BWF Female Athlete of the Year award. Won the award for two consecutive years until this year. She even conquered the women’s singles at the Paris Olympics and was recognized as the best active badminton player in name and reality.
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Afterwards, gold medals were expected at the World Tour Finals, but the result was disappointing. It seems that there were mental difficulties due to the gap in practice after the Olympics, the administrative chaos of the Korea Badminton Association, and internal reporting.
Ahn Se-young won the Korean badminton women’s singles gold medal for the first time in 28 years at the Paris Olympics. Ahn Se-young, who came from behind to win 2-1 against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia) in the semifinals, defeated He Bingjiao (China) 2-0 in the finals and won her first Olympic medal in gold. Immediately after winning the Olympics, he exposed the Korean Badminton Association’s negligence in managing him and the underdeveloped badminton team culture, which caused a deep repercussion and led to an investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and a National Assembly audit.
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Meanwhile, the women’s doubles pair of Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) and Baek Hana (MG Saemaul Geumgo) (2nd place) defeated China’s Ryu Seong-su and Tanning (1st place) in the women’s doubles semifinals with a score of 2-0 (21-14 22-20). and reached the finals. The pair of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (Japan) compete for the gold medal.
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kim Hyun-ki [email protected]
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