Women’s badminton singles powerhouses, including world No. 1 Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), are not in good condition. China, which has a relatively healthy Olympic defending champion Chen Yufei (26), is smiling.
China won the 30th Badminton World Federation (BWF) Uber Cup on May 5, breaking its own record for most wins in the competition with 16. The ‘Uber Cup’ is the women’s national team world championship.
‘Xinhua Tongxunseo’ said, “South Korea’s Ahn Se-young and Japan’s world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi (27) were absent and fell to the semifinals of the 2024 Uber Cup. Ahn Se-young admitted that she was in bad shape and felt very uncomfortable,” she reported.
Enlarge photo Ahn Se-young is frowning, possibly due to pain, during the quarterfinal singles match of the 30th World Badminton Federation Women’s National Team World Championship ‘Uber Cup’. Photo = Photo = AFP = Provided by Yonhap News
Akane Yamaguchi achieved two consecutive wins at the 26th and 27th BWF World Championships in 2021 and 2022. China’s State Council (government) news agency ‘Xinhua Tongxunshe’ reported, “Japan’s Uber Cup squad remained silent without answering when asked whether it was a recurrence of a long-standing injury or whether they were missing to conserve physical strength.”
Dai Tzu-ying (30, Taiwan), ranked 5th in the world, is a silver medalist at the 33rd Tokyo Summer Olympics in Japan in 2021. According to ‘Xinhua Tongxunshu’, after being eliminated in the Uber Cup quarterfinals, “his physical condition is below 50%. I just hope the situation doesn’t get any worse. “I am worried about the 33rd Olympics in Paris, France,” he said.
The badminton event at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held from July 28 to August 6, Korean time. Dai Tzu-ying is known to have difficulty running and controlling the shuttlecock and racket due to poor health.
Enlarge photo Dai Ziying plays in the singles round of 16 at the 41st Asian Badminton Federation Championships in April 2024. Photo = AFP = Provided by Yonhap News Enlarge photo Chen Yufei (center) is lifting the 2024 Uber Cup trophy representing China. Photo = AP = Provided by Yonhap News
‘Xinhua Tongxunseo’ compared, saying, “While the top players were struggling, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Chen Yufei, ranked second in the world, won all four games of the 30th Uber Cup in relatively healthy form, unaffected by foot injuries.” .
Spain had Carolina Marin (31), ranked third in the world, but could not participate in the Uber Cup due to the weak national team. Marin’s victory at the 31st Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 was her first and still last Olympic badminton appearance.
Enlarge photo Carolina Marin is happy after winning the women’s badminton singles gold medal at the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1
‘Xinhua Tongxunshe’ said, “There is no doubt that individual condition is the most important factor that will determine the outcome of the Paris Olympics. He expressed caution, saying, “This season, ▲Ahn Se-young, ▲Chen Yu-fei, ▲Akane Yamaguchi, and ▲Carolina Marin, who is healthier than Dai Ziying, are emerging as strong gold medal candidates.”
Carolina Marin won the Super 1000 Series All England Open and Super 300 Series Swiss Open in the 2024 BWF World Tour. The fact that Spain only finished second in the 9th European Badminton Federation Team Championship and her participation in the Uber Cup was cancelled, is positive for her as an individual player as she does not overdo it ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Enlarge photo Carolina Marin is taking a commemorative photo while holding the trophy after winning the gold medal at the 2024 World Badminton Federation World Tour Super 1000 Series All England Open. Photo = AFP = Provided by Yonhap News
Women’s Badminton World Team Championship TOP 2 Number of Times
China: 16 winners, 4 runners-up
Indonesia: 3 winners, 8 runners-up
Japan: 6 winners, 3 runners-up
South Korea: 2 winners, 7 runners-up
USA: 3 winners, 1 runner-up
2024 Uber Cup Asia Singles TOP 4 results
Ranking #1 Ahn Se-young: 3 wins out of 3 matches
Ranking 2nd place: Chen Yufei: 4 wins in 4 matches
Ranking 4th place: Akane Yamaguchi: 1 win, 1 loss
Ranking 5th Dai Ziying: 1 win, 1 match
Carolina Marin 2024 season records
European Championships: 5 wins out of 5 matches
Swiss Open: 5 wins out of 5 matches
All England Open: 5 wins out of 5 matches
French Open: 1 match, 1 loss
European Team Championships: 4 wins, 1 loss
Total: 19 wins, 2 losses (last 15 wins in a row)
Kang Dae-ho, MK Sports reporter
2024-05-07 23:02:55
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