▲ ⓒYonhap News
[스포티비뉴스=신인섭 기자] Britain’s Gillian Clark, a former badminton player, paid great attention to Ahn Se-young’s moves.
Seyoung Ahn will participate in the HSBC World Tour Finals to be held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center in China starting the 17th of this month. Let’s put aside the joy of winning 10 awards last month and enter focus mode again.
This competition has a special meaning to Ahn Se-young. This year, she swept a total of 10 international tournaments, including the Malaysia Open, All England Open, Indonesia Open (Super 1000), Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open (Super 750), India Open, Orleans Masters, and Australian Open, setting a record of becoming the first women’s singles player to win 10 crowns.
Naturally, attention turns to the World Tour Finals. With the BWF confirming the invitation list for the finals to be held from the 17th to the 21st, Ahn Se-young naturally receives the No. 1 seed on a stage where only the top eight players in the season can stand. China’s Wang Ziyi will take the second seed and will be placed in the opposite group, which also includes strong players such as Han Yue and Akane Yamaguchi. However, due to the maximum of two players per country, Chen Yufei (China, world 5th), whom Ahn Se-young lost twice this season, was excluded from the entry.
This is an important variable for Ahn Se-young. This is because two of his four losses this season came from Chen Yufei. However, the absence of Chen Yufei does not mean that the performance weakens. Wang Ziyi, Han Yue, and Japan’s Yamaguchi are participating, but none of them have been able to overcome Ahn Se-young’s barrier throughout the season. Wang Ziyi has not won a single match despite meeting her seven times in the finals, and Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki has lost all five matches and has not even won a set.
Ahn Se-young now challenges to tie the record of ’11 gold medals’, the highest record among men’s and women’s singles. He has already surpassed the 9 wins he set last year, and is challenging the men’s singles record for most wins in a single season (11) set by Kento Momota in 2019.
It is an explosive pace rarely seen in world badminton history. Naturally, interest is drawn. Accordingly, Clark, a former British badminton player, expressed his expectations through his personal SNS. She began by saying, “There is nothing more thrilling than the expansion of human achievement. The human effort to push boundaries, set new records, or go where no one has gone before is always fascinating. Think of moments like conquering Mount Everest, being the first man to land on the moon, or breaking the four-minute barrier for a mile record.”
At the same time, he said, “The three Korean players are expected to be strong contenders for the championship in the upcoming 2025 World Tour Finals, and all have the opportunity to write history. Ahn Se-young can extend the record for the most wins in a single season in women’s singles to 11 times in her name. This will tie the record of 11 wins set by Kento Momota in men’s singles in 2019.”
#Below is the full text of Gillian Clark’s personal SNS post.
There is nothing more thrilling than the expansion of human achievement. Human efforts to challenge limits, set new records, or enter places where no one has been before are always fascinating. Think of moments like conquering Mount Everest, being the first man to land on the moon, or breaking the four-minute barrier.
Not only are all these achievements amazing, but there is a special fascination and excitement in seeing records broken or watching an individual or team accomplish something once thought impossible.
For many years, it seemed like Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in swimming at the Munich Olympics would never be broken. But 36 years later in Beijing, that record was eventually surpassed. And I had the good fortune of witnessing Michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal in a competition at the Water Cube.
I also saw Usain Bolt win gold in the 100m, setting a new Olympic record, at the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.
In both cases, Phelps and Bolt were the favorites. However, their superiority did not diminish the excitement of the time one bit. Even though the result was somewhat predictable, there was only one reason why thousands of fans, including me, filled the stadium. It was the possibility that ‘history might be written before our eyes’ and the desire to witness that moment in person.
▲ ⓒGillian Clark SNS
In the upcoming 2025 World Tour Finals, the three Korean players are expected to emerge as strong contenders for the championship, and all have a chance to write history. Ahn Se-young can extend the record for most women’s singles wins in a season to her name, reaching her 11th title. This equals the record of 11 wins set by Kento Momota in men’s singles in 2019.
Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae have already tied Li Yongbo/Tian Bingyi’s record of 10 men’s doubles wins in a year in 1988, and have a chance to surpass that record in Hangzhou. Since Seo Seung-jae won the Thailand Masters with Jin Yong, there is a possibility that he will set a new record of winning 12 men’s doubles titles in a season. This is a record that surpasses the doubles record of 11 wins set by Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang in 2011.
This moment of standing on the threshold of history and trying to rewrite the records brings tremendous pressure and excitement to the players at the same time. And the desire of fans to witness the moment of the creation of that record will make the year-end finals a competition that cannot help but be completely immersive.
