Ahn Se-young Dominates: China Media Acknowledges Badminton Reign

[스포티비뉴스=박대현 기자] Even though two players advanced to the semifinals of the India Open, the Chinese media’s concern seems to be deepening.

“The real number one is Ahn Se-young,” he said, expressing concern that the trend of ‘overcoming public anxiety disorder’ is still not easy.

Ahn Se-young defeated Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani (world No. 6) 2-0 (21-16 21-8) in 36 minutes in the quarterfinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 India Open held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India on the 16th (Korean time).

It took only 108 minutes to reach the semifinals of the competition. Ahn Se-young, who previously defeated veteran Nozomi Okuhara (Japan, 27th), who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, 2-0 in 41 minutes in the round of 32, showed good performance in the round of 16 as well.

He easily defeated Taiwan’s Hwang Yu-sun (38th) by 2-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals. It was such a landslide victory that the game lasted only 31 minutes.

Even against Wardani, who had an absolute advantage with 7 wins out of 7 matches, he boasted a class that was two or three levels higher. They only struggled a bit in the first half of the first game, but dismissed the Indonesian sign in 36 minutes without giving up a single game. Now, in the semifinals, he will exchange shuttlecocks with Thailand’s powerhouse Ratchanok Inthanon (8th in the world).

China also sailed smoothly. ‘Ahn Se-young’s nemesis’ Chen Yu-fei (4th in the world) laughed during a family fight with Han Yue (5th in the world). They won the game with a score of 2-0 (21-8 21-18) and advanced to the semifinals.

Women’s singles world number 2 Wang Ziyi also achieved a 2-1 (20-22 21-13 21-9) comeback victory over Japan’s Niidara Natsuki (world number 28) and entered the semifinals. They were only defeated in the first game, but they overwhelmed the Japanese ambush in the other two games. Wang Ziyi clashes with Chen Yufei on the way to the finals of the competition.

China’s ‘Sohu’ said on the 15th, “China still boasts the highest power in the world’s women’s singles, producing three quarterfinalists at the India Open,” but could not hide a bitter expression, saying, “However, the true leader in the women’s singles battlefield at the moment is Korea’s Ahn Se-young. Ahn Se-young is cruising without any major crises in this tournament as well. Although she has the upper hand over Korea in quantity, the fact is that (Ahn Se-young’s advantage) is unshakable.”

Following her victory at the Malaysia Open on the 11th, Ahn Se-young won two consecutive tournaments by winning the Indian Open and is attempting to defend her title for the second consecutive year.

In addition, since the Denmark Open in October of last year, she has been on the top of the podium in five consecutive competitions. Seyoung Ahn currently has 355 wins (71 losses) in her BWF career. If he wins the Indian Open, his total multiplier can increase to ‘357’.

Last season, Ahn Se-young had a dream year, setting major records such as tying the most wins in a BWF single season (11 times), the highest winning percentage (94.8%, 73 wins, 4 losses), and exceeding $1 million in accumulated prize money (approximately 1.467 billion won). Attention is being paid to whether New Delhi, India, will be able to continue its good fortune by crossing the much gentler ‘Great Wall of China’.