Korean women’s badminton star Ahn Se-yong (Samsung Life Insurance) has claimed first place at the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 China Masters.
World No. 1 Ahn Se-Yong defeated World No. 28 Gao Fanji (China) 2-0 (21-12 21-8) in the women’s singles final at the Shenzhen Arena in Shenzhen, China. 24th. In the 1st game, they won 21-12 by forcing the opponent to make mistakes with their special defensive line.
In contrast to the Denmark Open, Ahn Se-yong, who was uncomfortable with the coach’s body, including coach Kim Hak-gyun, showed active communication with coaches Ronia Gustines and Seong Ji-yoon in this tournament.
With this victory, Ahn Se-yong won her first international competition since winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and won her fifth gold medal this year. After a two-month post-Olympics focused on injury treatment and rehabilitation, he returned last month at the National Sports Festival and the Denmark Open. He lost to World No. 3 Wang Zhi (China) and finished second at the Denmark Open, but showed himself to be a strong player in this tournament.
In particular, Se-Yong Ahn showed impressive performance in this tournament, defeating Rachana Kintanon (Thailand 18th), Song Shuoyin (Taiwan 24th), Zhang Yiman (China, 23rd) and Tomoka Miyazaki. Japan, ranked 24th) are listed in that order. Wang Xiyi, who beat Ahn Se-yong in the Denmark Open final, lost to Gao Fanji in the round of 16.
Meanwhile, after winning the Olympic gold medal, Ahn Se-yong publicly criticized the Korean Badminton Association’s training methods and treatment of players and demanded reforms. The association announced that it has collected comments from the players and revised some operating guidelines.
Hajun Lee (lee.hayjune@joongang.co.kr)