PETALING JAYA: South Korean women’s badminton singles sensation An Se-young (pic) is out to complete her impressive medal collection by capturing the gold in the Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old created history by becoming the first Korean to win the World Championship title last August and followed it up by claiming gold in the Hangzhou Asian Games just two months later.
Now, she is keen to follow in the footsteps of former Korean great Bang Soo-hyun by winning the Olympics crown.
Soo-Hyun won silver in the 1992 Barcelona Games before capturing gold in 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
No Korean has won a medal since Soo-Hyun and world No. 1 Se-young is keen to end the wait in style in Paris.
“I believe Paris is like my final puzzle piece. I think this is my biggest challenge,” said Se-young in an interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I will go on court to play my usual game and play with confidence. Winning the gold after all the challenges I have been through will be a huge relief for me. I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
Se-young is brimming with confidence after capturing three titles this year - in the Malaysian, French and Singapore Opens - and finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Open.
“The positive results I have achieved leading up to the Olympics and my preparations have given me confidence,” said Se-young, who will be competing in her second Games after making her debut in the Tokyo 2021 at the age of 19
The youngster reached the quarter-finals in Tokyo before going down to China’s eventual gold medallist Chen Yufei. Yufei will again be Se-young’s greatest challenger in Paris along with Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, who won silver in 2021.
The others in the fray are Rio 2016 champion Carolina Marin of Spain and Japan’s former two-time world title winner Akane Yamaguchi. Se-young could face world No. 6 Yamaguchi in the last eight while Tzu-ying will likely stand in her way in the semi-finals.
The badminton competition starts tomorrow at the Adidas Arena in Porte de la Chapelle.
