Badminton star Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) achieved her first win of the new year after a hard-fought match.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, defeated Michelle Lee (Canada) 2-1 (19-21 21-16 21-18) after a fierce battle of 1 hour and 15 minutes in the round of 32 of the World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 6th.
A relatively easy victory was expected as she had an overwhelming advantage by winning all 8 matches before the match, but Ahn Se-young struggled, losing the first set first. However, they regained the momentum with their unique tenacious defense and stable game management, and turned the game around by winning the second and third sets in a row.
The deciding factor was 2 sets. The loss deepened as they were pushed down to 6-11 due to consecutive goals, but they immediately turned the situation around by showing concentration by winning 7 points in a row after the interval. Ahn Se-young, riding on the momentum, took the lead in the third set by scoring five consecutive points when she was down 14-16, and ended the match by adding two points down at 19-18.
If Ahn Se-young wins this tournament, she will achieve her third consecutive Malaysia Open title. Last year, she rewrote badminton history by recording the highest number of wins in a single season (11 wins) and the highest winning percentage (94.8%) ever for a women’s singles player, and she will once again go on the hunt for the trophy in the first competition of the new year. In the round of 16, she will face Nozomi Okuhara (Japan), the 2017 World Championship gold medalist.
Reporter Bae Jung-hyeon bjh1025@edaily.co.kr
