‘Empress’ Ahn Se-young loses to ‘old enemy’ Japan Yamaguchi in the Badminton King’s Battle… 1 win 1 loss

(Reporter Choi Won-young, Xports News) Korean badminton star Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, world No. 1) suffered a bitter defeat.

Ahn Se-young defeated Akane Yamaguchi (4th, Japan) with a game score of 1-2 (20-22 21) in the second match of Group B of the HSBC Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2024 Women’s Singles Group Stage held at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on the 12th. -17 lost 15-21).

The BWF World Tour Finals is a competition of kings and kings in which only eight players (teams), including Olympic champions and players who have performed at the top of international competitions during the season, participate. Eight players in each event are divided into two groups of four and compete in the group stage, and only two players from each group advance to the semifinals to determine the strongest player of the year.

Yamaguchi, who faced Ahn Se-young in the second match, was ranked No. 1 in the world. Ahn Se-young met Yamaguchi in the women’s singles quarterfinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics held from late July to early August and achieved a 2-1 comeback victory. Afterwards, he defeated He Bingjiao (9th place at the time, China) 2-0 in the final and won the gold medal. However, this time, the victory was given to Yamaguchi.

At the beginning of the first game, Ahn Se-young went up 6-0. Ahn Se-young, who gradually allowed Yamaguchi to pursue, lost after a close deuce match. In game 2, Ahn Se-young rode the trend by scoring 4 consecutive points at 12-13. In the end, they won two games and brought the game back to square one.

Ahn Se-young and Yamaguchi continued their tense tug-of-war until the middle of the third game. Ahn Se-young swallowed his disappointment by conceding four consecutive goals in a situation where the game was down 15-17.

Ahn Se-young easily defeated Supanida Katetong (10th place, Thailand) in the first match of Group B of the group stage on the 11th with a game score of 2-0 (21-16 21-14). They continued their overwhelming lead against Kateton with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss. In particular, they showed off their skills by taking a 9-0 lead in the second game. Victory was achieved in 44 minutes.

Ahn Se-young, who lost in the second match against Yamaguchi, recorded 1 win and 1 loss in the tournament and ranked 2nd out of 4 players in Group B. Currently in first place is Hanyue (8th, China), who played one game and won one. Yamaguchi was in 3rd place with 1 win and 1 loss, and Kateton was in 4th place with 1 loss. Ahn Se-young is scheduled to play the third match against Hanwe on the 13th.

Meanwhile, Ahn Se-young won the ‘Female Athlete of the Year Award (Player of the Year)’ selected by BWF at the BWF Awards Ceremony held in Hangzhou, China on the 9th. Enjoyed the honor two years in a row. In addition, she was selected as the winner of the ‘Players Player of the Year’ award, which is the female player of the year award chosen by fellow female players, and won two awards.

Ahn Se-young, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics after successively winning the Copenhagen World Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, is aiming to win the World Tour Finals as well. We are attempting to regain the summit for the first time in three years in 2021.

Photo = Xports News DB​

Reporter Choi Won-young [email protected]