Susanti Compares Her Record Run to an Se-young
“An Se-young wins every time she steps out,” Susi Susanti said in remarks reported by BolaSport.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medalist and former world No. 1 evaluated the mindset of South Korea’s top-ranked singles player in an interview covered by BolaSport. Susanti, who compiled a 59-match winning streak during her career in the 1990s, praised the current dominance of An Se-young on the international circuit.
Chasing the 59-Match Milestone
An Se-young captured her 11th title of the season at the Korea Open on Oct. 8 at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, defeating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the Super 500 final. The victory brought An’s winning streak to 55 matches following a lone loss to China’s Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March.
With 71 wins against a single defeat across 72 matches this year, An sits four victories away from matching Susanti’s historic 59-match women’s singles winning streak set between 1993 and 1994. Susanti noted that modern athletes enjoy advanced sports science yet sometimes retire from matches at the first sign of physical discomfort.
“In my era, if you could walk, even with a limp, you pushed through to the finish,” Susanti told BolaSport.
Managing the BWF World Tour Schedule
Susanti addressed the physical toll of the modern Badminton World Federation calendar, stating that players should not enter every tournament blindly. She emphasized that athletes must balance training time with competition to address technical weaknesses rather than simply chasing ranking points.
An has already adjusted her schedule by withdrawing from the upcoming Kumamoto Masters in Japan to manage her physical condition. Her next confirmed appearance is scheduled for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, in December.
Keep reading
