Badminton participant An Se-young listens to a reporter’s query at Incheon Worldwide Airport, Tuesday, upon returning dwelling from New Delhi, the place she gained her second profession world title within the girls’s singles. Yonhap
Freshly topped the world champion, Korean badminton star An Se-young stated Tuesday she is going to now flip her focus to defending her Asian Video games title subsequent month in Japan.
An arrived again dwelling early Tuesday, two days after profitable her second profession world title within the girls’s singles in New Delhi. An, world No. 1, defeated second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-17, 21-14 within the ultimate to cap a flawless, six-match run, throughout which she didn’t lose a recreation.
It was An’s first match again since a left foot harm compelled her to withdraw from the Japan Open in July after only one match.
“I used to be fairly nervous as a result of this was my first competitors again from the harm and I solely tried to give attention to getting my really feel again on the court docket,” An instructed reporters gathered at Incheon Worldwide Airport, simply west of Seoul. “I didn’t have excessive expectations for myself, and I used to be stunned to have the ability to convey dwelling such a fantastic outcome.”
An admitted she was not utterly pain-free all through the match however her situations improved because the occasion progressed.
“With some lingering ache, I believe I used to be hesitant within the early going,” An stated. “However as I continued to play in opposition to world-class opponents, I used to be capable of make changes and react to sure pictures once I needed to.”
An prolonged her profitable streak in opposition to Yamaguchi to 6 matches. The Japanese veteran as soon as had An’s numbers, however the Korean has had the benefit since rising to No. 1 within the rankings in August 2023.
This pattern also needs to bode nicely for An’s probabilities of profitable her second straight girls’s singles gold medal on the Asian Video games, which is able to happen subsequent month on Yamaguchi’s dwelling turf.
“I believe it’s a nice signal that I’ve saved on beating her,” An stated. “If I method the Asian Video games with confidence, like I’ve nothing to lose, then I believe my opponent will tense up. I need to hold doing what I’ve been doing all alongside.”
With lots of An’s rivals being from Asia — Wang Zhiyi of China and Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand had been the 2 different semifinalists on the worlds, whereas Chen Yufei of China is the reigning Asian Video games silver medalist — the Asian Video games is not going to appear a lot completely different from the world championships.
“I’d like to win one other Asian Video games gold medal, however everybody else will need to win it, too,” An stated. “An important factor is to not really feel an excessive amount of strain. I do know it’s going to take numerous exhausting work to get it executed, and I’ll attempt to play with confidence.”
Together with her rivals having just lately expressed their helplessness in opposition to the Korean star — after shedding to An within the semifinals in New Delhi, Wang playfully requested her, “How do I beat you?” — An stated the distinction seemingly comes within the degree of her self-belief.
“I’ve quite a lot of belief in myself and within the work I’ve put in,” An stated. “And the largest secret is to play with confidence in order that my conviction interprets into my efficiency on the court docket.”
