First win at BWF World Tour Finals best performance after my injury, says An Se-young
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South Korea’s An Se-young is not fully fit as she competes at the BWF World Tour Finals, having injured her knee at the Asian Games.
PHOTO: AFP
HANGZHOU – Hampered by a knee injury and a defeat by fellow South Korean Kim Ga-eun in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals, world No. 1 An Se-young knew she had to keep her focus.
The 21-year-old, who was named the BWF’s Female Player of the Year earlier in the week, did not get off to the best of starts at the season-ending event in Hangzhou.
She lost her opening match to Kim on Dec 13, but could be forgiven as she has not been at her best since injuring her knee at the September-October Asian Games.
Still, An did not want to use injury as an excuse and she persevered to beat Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-14, 21-16 in her second Group A match on Dec 14, keeping alive her hopes of making the semi-finals.
“For me, this is my best performance after my injury. Although it’s very hard for me, this is a very good comeback,” said the reigning world champion, who had contested two events without a title since the Asian Games.
“Compared to earlier, I feel much better now, but still it’s a big challenge for me as the recovery is still in progress.
“I’m not thinking about other things for now, I just want my knee to recover fully. I don’t want to overthink about my knee injury. For tomorrow’s match, I will try to do my best.”
Her victory meant that Tunjung was eliminated from the competition, while she will face Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu-ying on Dec 15 in a must-win clash at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Centre.
An is aiming to clinch her 11th trophy in 2023 to match former men’s singles world No. 1 Kento Momota’s calendar-year record, but it will not come easy against an opponent who has won her first two matches.
Tai beat Tunjung on Dec 13, and she carried on the momentum by defeating Kim in a hard-fought match that ended 21-15, 21-23, 21-11 in her favour.
In Group B, Spain’s Carolina Marin defeated China’s Han Yue 21-11, 21-12, while Han’s compatriot Chen Yufei overwhelmed American Zhang Beiwen 21-13, 21-15.
Marin and Chen have advanced to the semi-finals, both having won two of two matches against Han and Zhang.
In the men’s draw, Viktor Axelsen beat Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 21-17, 21-9 to also stay in the competition.
The Danish defending champion – like his fellow world No. 1 An – had lost his opening match on Dec 13, falling to home favourite Shi Yuqi, whom he had beaten eight times in a row.
In the same Group A, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia defeated Shi 11-21, 21-7, 21-17.
In the group’s final matches on Dec 15, Axelsen will take on Ginting, who leads with two wins, with Shi up against Naraoka.
In Group B, China’s Li Shifeng dug deep to beat Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 22-20, ending the reigning world champion’s semi-final hopes.
Li must now beat group leader Jonatan Christie of Indonesia to make the last four. Christie defeated Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-16, 21-18 to lead the group with two wins.
In the mixed doubles, Malaysia’s world No. 8s Chen Tangjie and Toh Ee Wei also preserved their hopes of reaching the last four after a 12-21, 21-16, 21-16 comeback win over second-ranked Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan.
To get out of the group, they must next beat Thailand’s sixth-ranked Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
