2024-01-14 07:40:00
Ahn Se-young is happy after winning the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 14th (Korean time). [AP=연합뉴스]
The ‘Badminton Empress’ is back. Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) lifted her first championship trophy after recovering from a knee injury.
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young defeated world No. 4 Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) 2-1 (10-21 21) in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 14th (Korean time). -10 21-18). Tai Ziying created a sensation by defeating world No. 6 He Bingjiao (China) in the quarterfinals and world No. 2 Chen Yufei (China) in the semifinals, but she could not overcome Ahn Se-young’s wall.
It was a game of great interest. Ahn Se-young won the gold medal in the women’s singles at the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) in October last year. It has been 29 years since Bang Bang-hyeon at the 1994 Hiroshima Games that a Korean player won the AG women’s singles final. But she injured her knee (ruptured tendon) in the final, so she spent about five weeks of rehabilitation and rest after AG. After she returned to the court, she did not perform at her best for a while.
Ahn Se-young defending in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 14th (Korean time). [AP=연합뉴스]
At the China Masters last November, Ahn Se-young was eliminated in the round of 16 and failed to advance to an international competition for the first time last year. Including this competition, she failed to cross the final threshold for three consecutive competitions. At the year-end award ceremony, he said, “The injury was a lot harder than I thought,” and “Considering what I’ve accomplished, I need to get back in shape quickly, but it’s disappointing and difficult because it’s been later than expected. I try not to be in a hurry.”
Tai Tzu-ying was the target of revenge. Seyoung Ahn lost 1-2 to Tai Tzu-ying in the semifinals of the World Tour Finals in November last year. At the time, Ahn Se-young, who had an advantage over her opponent with 10 wins and 1 loss, was expected to easily advance to the finals when she won the first set. However, he suffered a shocking defeat by losing two sets in a row. In particular, they were unable to maintain a 19-10 lead in the third set and fell to 20-22. The Malaysia Open was a ‘return match’ that took place after two months.
Ahn Se-young, who won the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 14th (Korean time). [AP=연합뉴스]
The start was uneasy. Ahn Se-young was dragged by Tai Tzu-ying throughout the first set. He chased with a diagonal attack that took the team off guard at 3-5, but conceded consecutive goals at 5-8. Due to the misfortune of the opponent’s smash hitting the net, the score gap widened to 5-11. In the end, with the team tied at 7 points, Tai Tzu-ying’s offense and defense mistakes overlapped, resulting in a complete loss of 11 points, giving up the first set. The atmosphere in the second set was 180 degrees different. Ahn Se-young’s diagonal attack came to life and took a 4-2 lead, and Tai Tzu-ying’s attack mistakes continued to increase the lead to 7-2. At 15-8, he showed amazing judgment ability by countering the opponent’s attack with a diagonal drop shot.
There were mixed emotions in the final third set. Ahn Se-young, who was down 2-4 at the beginning of the set, succeeded in tying the score at 5-5 and continued to fight. From then on, she did not let go of her hard-earned victory. At 10-9, Tai Tzu-ying’s attack mistake widened the lead and the lead went up to 18-13. They allowed the team to trail to 18-19 at the end of the game, but later made a mistake in the opponent’s attack and reached the championship point first. It was a close enough scene that Tai Tzu-ying applied for a challenge (video review), but Ahn Se-young laughed because the centrist’s decision to declare ‘out’ was upheld. Afterwards, they succeeded in scoring the last attack, and celebrated their victory with a unique ‘roaring ceremony’.
Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles final held prior to the women’s singles final, the pair of Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life Insurance) and Jeong Na-eun (Hwasun County Office) lost 0-2 (18-21, 15-21) to Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.
Reporter Bae Jung-hyeon bjh1025@edaily.co.kr
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