Seyoung Ahn lost in the quarterfinals of the Asian Championships. Photo = Yonhap News
‘Badminton Empress’ Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) was eliminated from the 2024 Asian Individual Badminton Championships without passing the quarterfinals threshold.
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young lost 0-2 (17-21 18-21) to China’s He Bingjiao (world No. 16) in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the tournament held in Ningbo, China on the 12th.
It was literally a complete defeat. Ahn Se-young, who had been in a close match until the middle of the first set, was greatly shaken at the end. He conceded four straight points and dropped the set at 17-17. Then, in the second set, the score gap widened to 6-12 after conceding five consecutive points, which was fatal. Ahn Se-young patiently chased down to 15-16, but was unable to tie the score and was completely defeated by He Bing-jiao.
This is an opponent with a somewhat different ranking. Ahn Se-young’s recent record against opponents has also been overwhelmingly superior. It has been about two years since Ahn Se-young lost to He Bingjiao in her international competition in the semifinals of the Indonesia Open in June 2022. Since then, An Se-young has faced He Bing-jiao seven times and won all of them.
For Ahn Se-young, it was a game that confirmed the lingering effects of an injury sustained after her fighting spirit and victory at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. At the time, she did not give up and won the Asian Games despite suffering a knee injury, but she has not been able to show her previous skills since then. Her injury has recovered, but it appears that her physical strength has not yet gotten back on track. Ahn Se-young won her first title since returning from injury at the Malaysia Open in January this year, but she withdrew from the Indian Open quarterfinals the following week with a thigh muscle injury. At the All England Open, where she competed after winning the French Open last month, she was unable to reach the finals after being pushed out by Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) due to fitness issues.
Reporter Cha Seung-yoon [email protected]
2024-04-12 09:58:42
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