(Xports News Reporter Yoon Jun-seok) Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), world number one in badminton women’s singles, advanced to the finals of the India Open and once again showed off her overwhelming presence in the new year.
Accordingly, the local media focused on Ahn Se-young’s near-perfect performance and unrivaled status and poured out high praise.
Ahn Se-young defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon (world number 8) 2-0 (21-11, 21-7) in the women’s singles semifinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 India Open held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India on the 17th (Korean time) and advanced to the finals.
The game lasted only 32 minutes. Ahn Se-young completely dominated the game from the beginning with strong offense and stable defense, and achieved a one-sided victory without giving Intanon a single chance.
With this victory, Ahn Se-young advanced to the finals of the India Open and faced China’s Wang Zhiyi (world number 2) for the championship trophy.
With the match between the world No. 1 and No. 2 being concluded, Ahn Se-young continued her unwavering performance in this tournament and attempted to win the title for two consecutive weeks following the Malaysia Open in the new year.
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Upon hearing the news of Ahn Se-young advancing to the finals, local media also paid attention to her overwhelming performance.
Indian media outlet ‘Dev Discos’ reported, “Ahn Se-young continued her impressive performance at the India Open Super 750 and advanced to the women’s singles final. Korea’s Ahn Se-young defeated former world champion Ratchanok Inthanon in a straight game.” He continued, “As the top seed in this tournament, Ahn Se-young is continuing his winning streak based on stable game management and outstanding concentration.”
‘Tribuna India’ heavily covered the semifinal victory with the title, “Ahn Se-young advanced to the finals with a stormy performance.” The media reported, “World No. 1 Ahn Se-young took control of the match against Thailand’s former champion Ratchanok Inthanon and finished the match in just 32 minutes.”
‘Indian Express’ praised Ahn Se-young’s performance, comparing it to a ‘badminton clinic.’ The media reported, “Ahn Se-young once again made her rivals shake their heads at the India Open. World No. 1 Se-young Ahn showed a near-perfect performance against Ratchanok Inthanon and advanced to the finals, recording 29 consecutive wins on the BWF World Tour.”
“He completely overwhelmed Inthanon with his elaborately designed drop shot, powerful forehand smash, movements that covered the entire court, and agile footwork,” he said. “He showed off a textbook performance that was like a badminton lesson to his opponent.”
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‘Sportstar’ described Ahn Se-young as the current strongest female badminton player in a long analysis article. The media said, “Ahn Se-young is dominating the women’s singles with her power, accuracy, physicality, and endless competitive spirit,” and added, “The 23-year-old Korean player participated in 15 world tour competitions last season and reached the finals 12 times, winning 11 of them.”
He continued, “At the Indian Open, she defeated Nozomi Okuhara, Hwang Hu-sun, and Putri Kusuma Wardani with straight wins, and in the semifinals, she defeated Inthanon 21-11, 21-7. Inthanon was so clever that she burst out laughing, saying, ‘I don’t know what Ahn Se-young’s weakness is now.'”
He added, “Ahn Se-young plays calmly throughout the game without any emotional ups and downs, and puts pressure on the opponent by managing the game with overwhelming power that does not allow for even a single gap.”
In this way, overseas media are heaping praise on Ahn Se-young, who advanced to the finals of the India Open, reaffirming her status as the world’s strongest player.
In the final of this tournament being held in New Delhi, India, there is a big match between world number one Se-young Ahn and world number two Wang Zhiyi. Attention is focused on whether Ahn Se-young will once again defeat Wang Zhiyi.
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Junseok Yoon jupremebd@xportsnews.com
The categories of this article follow the classification of media outlets.
