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[스포츠서울 | 김경무전문기자] The World Badminton Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 special event, the ‘2023 Jeonyoung Open’ (total prize money of 1.25 million dollars), starts at Ultita Arena in Birmingham, England on the 14th (local time) and will enter a fierce battle until the 19th.
The Korean badminton team, led by coach Kim Hak-kyun (52), is preparing for a decisive match after the German Open (Super 300) held last week.
At the German Open, South Korea won gold medals in women’s doubles: Lee So-hee (29, Incheon International Airport) – Baek Ha-na (23, MG Saemaul Geumgo), and Choi Sol-gyu (28, Armed Forces Sports Corps) – Kim Won-ho (24, Samsung Life Insurance) in men’s doubles. He picked it up and gained momentum. Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance) in the women’s singles and Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun (23, Hwasun-gun Office) in the mixed doubles also achieved many achievements, winning silver medals each.
However, world number 2 Ahn Se-young, who had high expectations, was completely defeated by 1st place Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) in the final, leaving much to be desired.
Ahn Se-young has the pain of finishing runner-up after losing 0-2 to Yamaguchi in the women’s singles final at the Jeonyeong Open last year. She wanted to see if a Korean player could win the Jeonyeong Open women’s singles title for the first time in 26 years since Bang Soo-hyeon in 1996, but Ahn Se-young was unable to achieve her goal. She is the reason this time she rushes revenge blood clots.
Ahn Se-young was assigned the second seed this time. Yamaguchi is the No. 1 seed. If the two of them have to reach the finals, they can have a face-to-face match like last year. If Ahn Se-young passes the first and second rounds, in the quarterfinals, she will face Carolina Marin (Spain), the 7th seed and gold medalist in women’s singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a 30-year-old veteran, an opponent she can never belittle.
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The main concern is how Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, who have emerged as new hopes for women’s doubles, will perform at the Jeonyeong Open. The two teamed up for the first time in October of last year, and gained momentum by reaching the final of the Denmark Open held that month, but lost to China’s Qingchen-Jiaifan, world No.
If Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, who are full of confidence with their first win at the German Open, pass the first round, there is a high possibility that they will face off against world No. 2 Matsuyama Nami and Shida Chiharu of Japan in the second round as the second seeds. However, in the final of the German Open, the two defeated this Japanese group 2-0 (21-19, 21-15), raising expectations.
If Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na reach the finals after going through many difficulties, a rematch with Chen Qing-cheon and Ji Ai-fan after 5 months could happen. [email protected]
