Badminton Women’s Singles Semifinal Advance Challenge for Final on the 4th
With only two wins left before the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal, ‘Shuttlecock Queen’ Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life) clenched her fists, vowing to do her best to achieve her dream without regrets.
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young defeated Akane Yamaguchi (No. 6, Japan) 2-1 (15-21 21-17 21-8) in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the Porte de la Chapelle in Paris, France on the 3rd (local time).
Ahn Se-young, who received the No. 1 seed and advanced to the quarterfinals with a bye, defeated Yamaguchi and secured a ticket to the semifinals.
Although her performance declined due to an injury last year, Yamaguchi was the player who held the top spot until An Se-young rose to world No. 1.
An Se-young now needs just two more wins to win the gold medal at her second Olympics.
In her first Olympic appearance, the 2020 Tokyo Games, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Chen Yufei (China).
After losing the first game, An Se-young won the second and third games to secure a ticket to the semifinals. She said in the mixed zone, “It’s great to be in the semifinals at my second Olympics. I’ll prepare well for the next game.” She added, “It’s far when I think I have two wins left, but I’ll reach my dream by thinking about each game.” An Se-young, who had a hard time adjusting because the wind was blowing in the stadium that day, explained, “I was desperate to keep up with my opponent’s speed in the first game, but I took advantage of the wind to push through the second game, and I think it worked out well to be bold in the third game when my opponent seemed tired.” She added, “I didn’t feel anxious even though I lost the first game. “I thought I could do it,” she said. Ahn Se-young will compete for a spot in the finals with the winner of the match between Ratchanok Inthanon (Thailand) and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia) on the 4th. “I was worried that the quarterfinals would be the critical point, and it was really hard. No matter who advances, I will do my best and do it my way.” Ahn Se-young, who started the match at 8:30 a.m. local time, said, “I personally prefer morning matches over evening matches,” and “Everyone said the matchup wasn’t good, but I want to do it my way without regrets.” She continued, “I’m still nervous, but I’m trying to turn that into excitement. I want to do my best.” After confirming her spot in the semifinals, Ahn Se-young knelt down, raised both hands toward the audience, and roared, saying, “It was so good. I wanted to show it to my parents. I wanted to express how I had been holding back after the match, so I did that.” Ahn Se-young’s parents were present at the stadium to watch their daughter’s victory. An Se-young said, “I can hear my parents’ cheering. I can hear my mom and dad’s unique voices.” 카지노사이트