South Korean An Se-young wins Singapore Badminton Open for fifth title in eight finals in 2023
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South Korea's An Se-young celebrates after beating Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles final at the Singapore Badminton Open on Sunday.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
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SINGAPORE – There are not many players who can batter Japan’s world No. 1 and world champion Akane Yamaguchi
After a futuristic court projection-and-light show at the start of the Sunday’s competition at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, she beat Yamaguchi 21-16, 21-14 in 40 minutes to prove that her time is now, as she picked up her fifth title from eight straight finals in 2023.
With the world championships and Olympics coming up in the next 14 months, An wants to win them all and ascend to the summit of the world rankings.
After her fifth victory in straight games in Singapore, the 21-year-old flashed her trademark A hand sign, and told The Straits Times: “These are my dreams. Although I want my dreams to come true, if I look at things that are too far away, I can become nervous and rush to do things. So, I would like to work hard for now and see how far I can go.”
Post-match, Yamaguchi, 26, graciously gave her rival a heartfelt tribute and said An’s persistence posed a huge psychological challenge to her.
She added: “Her defence is the most outstanding aspect of her game, and she has added attacking weapons over the years. She is also able to master the wind conditions and use them to her advantage. I had to stay level-headed, but I was unable to sustain this throughout the match.”
An was one of four new winners at the US$850,000 (S$1.14 million) tournament.
China’s three-time women’s doubles world champions and top-ranked Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won here after overcoming South Korea’s world No. 2 Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee 21-16, 21-12. The victory extended their win rate to an astounding 33 victories in 41 finals at senior level.
Chen said: “It is actually impossible to try and maintain such form. We just do our best every time we get to a final, and perhaps the secret is just us having strict demands of ourselves every time we step onto the court.”
With the Olympics the only major event to elude them after losing the Tokyo 2020 final to Indonesians Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu, Jia added: “Before we retire, we want to unlock more achievements and new titles.”
In the mixed doubles, Denmark’s world No. 13 Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje also broke through and defeated Japan’s third-ranked Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino 21-14, 20-22, 21-16.
Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen (left) and Alexandra Boje celebrate after beating Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino during the mixed doubles event.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
While they could not put away their only match point in the second game, they persisted with their unusual strategy of Christiansen attacking the front court with Boje smashing or placing from behind and it paid off with the biggest title of their career.
Christiansen, who threw his headband, racket and the winning shuttle into the crowd before he broke down in tears, said: “This court can be quite tricky to play because there was a lot of drift and it’s not easy to use the backline. So, the more you go forward as a pair, the better chance you have to win.”
The men’s doubles final also produced a new winner as Japan’s world No. 6 Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi upstaged China’s third-ranked Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-13, 21-18.
There was, however, one repeat winner and it was Indonesia’s world No. 2 Anthony Ginting, who became the first men’s singles player to retain his Singapore Open title in 20 years since China’s Chen Hong in 2003.
He cruised past Denmark’s 22nd-ranked Anders Antonsen 21-16, 21-13.
Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting celebrates after beating Denmark’s Anders Antonsen during the men’s singles final at the Singapore Badminton Open on Sunday.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
As Ginting struggled with the court conditions early on, Antonsen – making a comeback from a spate of injuries – led 15-14 in the first game, but once the speedy Ginting found his range, it was the Dane who crumbled with a series of unforced errors and poor line calls.
No men’s singles player has won three straight Singapore Open titles since Ong Poh Lim (1952-55). Ginting said: “It’s a big honour because Singapore is one of my favourite countries. I enjoy myself here, which helps with my strategy and play because I feel comfortable on court.
“It’s not easy to defend the title and I’m sure the other players will try their best to beat me. So, I have to keep improving to stand a chance of winning again next year.”
The singles champions took home US$59,500, while the runner-up bagged US$28,900. Meanwhile, the doubles winners will cash in a cheque for US$62,900, while the beaten finalists collected US$29,750.
