PETALING JAYA: The French Open, seen as the dress rehearsal for the upcoming Paris Olympics, saw South Korean hotshot An Se-young returning to her winning ways in Paris yesterday.
World No. 1 Se-young, playing in only her third event this year, overcame Japanese rival Akane Yamaguchi 18-21, 21-13, 21-10 in 64 minutes to clinch the women’s single title at the Paris Olympics test tournament at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle.
Se-young, 22, has had a spectacular season last year where she won a record 10 title including the World Championships in Copenhagen and the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou.
However, the heavy schedule also caused a knee injury and this is probably the reason Se-young has cut down on her competitions this year.
Se-young won the curtain raiser, the Malaysian Open, in January but lost in the quarter-finals of the Indian Open a week later.
The South Korean has secured her place in the Olympics and it will not be a surprise if she misses more tournaments this year as the main focus is to secure the women’s singles gold in Paris.
South Korea have been waiting for the women’s singles gold since 1996 Atlanta where Bang Soo-hyun secured gold and Se-young is likely to end the drought in Paris.
Meanwhile, China pair Feng Yanshe-Huang Dongping denied the Koreans another title at the French Open after they overcame world champions Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung 21-16, 21-16 in the final.
