National badminton sensation An Se-young on March 10 roars with excitement after winning the women’s singles title at the Yonex French Open against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris. (Yonhap News)
By Yoo Yeon Gyeong
National badminton queen An Se-young has won the Yonex French Open singles title after recovering from injury.
The world’s top-ranked female player on March 10 defeated No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, 2-1 (18-21 21-13 21-10), at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris to win the event for the first time since 2019. The tournament is part of the six-competition Super 750 series of the Badminton World Federation World Tour.
An’s triumphant return to the top of the global rankings came nearly seven weeks after she withdrew from the Indian Open on Jan. 19 due to knee and thigh injuries.
After dropping the first set due to Yamaguchi’s offense, she led 14-13 in the second before scoring seven straight points to tie. In the final set, An jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and at 6-2, she scored four straight points to take control.
An thus won her second tournament of the year, following the Malaysia Open on Jan. 14. Expectations of the world No. 1 also went up thanks to her victory in Paris, which hosts this year’s Summer Olympics in four months.
2024-03-11 11:29:05
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