[미디어펜=석명 기자] Ahn Se-yeong (21, Samsung Life Insurance), a leading female badminton star in Korea, accomplished a splendid feat by winning the Jeonyeong Open, which boasts the world’s best tradition and authority in a single badminton competition.
World No. 2 Ahn Se-young met Chen Yu-fei (China, 4th place) in the women’s singles final at the World Badminton Federation (BWF) 2023 Jeonyeong Open Badminton Championships held in Birmingham, England on the 19th (Korean time) and lost 2-1 (21). -17 10-21 21-19) and won the gold medal.
Ahn Se-young is the first Korean player to win the women’s singles championship in 27 years since Bang Soo-hyeon in 1996. Last year, she reached the finals of this tournament, but she also shook off the regret of losing to Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) and finishing runner-up.
| ▲ Photo = Official SNS of the Jeonyeong Open Badminton Championships | ||
Ahn Se-young showed a fighting spirit against Chen Yu-fei, who was trailing with 2 wins and 8 losses. Having met and won in the semifinals of the Malaysian Open in January, they succeeded in a bold attack with confidence, winning the first set and taking the lead.
In the second set, Chen Yufei counterattacked. Ahn Se-young, who was pushed back from the beginning, was hit by Chen Yu-fei’s quick attack and gave up the set.
The last three sets were close. They played a seesaw game and faced up to 17-17, but Ahn Se-young did not lose concentration and overcame the hump to take the lead at the last minute. Ahn Se-yeong, who did not miss Chen Yu-fei’s mistake and connected it with a point, won 21-19 and won a valuable championship.
On the other hand, in the women’s doubles where Korean players faced each other earlier, Kim So-young (Incheon International Airport) – Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank) Joe Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) – Baek Hana (MG Saemaul Geumgo) Joe 2-0 (21-5 21 -12) and enjoyed the joy of winning the gold medal.
It is the first Jeon Young Open women’s doubles championship in six years since the 2017 Jang Yena-Lee So-hee pair.
Seo Seung-jae (Army Sports Corps) and Chae Yoo-jung (Incheon International Airport), who reached the mixed doubles final, did well against China’s Zheng Si-wei and Huang Ya-chung, the world’s strongest team, but unfortunately lost 1-2 (16-21 21-16 12-21). I had to be satisfied with the silver medal.
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