Ahn Se-young Only 1 Win Away from 'Golden Smash' "I Will End It Romantically" [Paris Olympics]

Face-off with He Bingzhao Today at 5:55 PM

"Chen Yufei (China, world No. 2) falling does not automatically mean a gold medal is awarded." This is the determination of world No. 1 An Se-young (22, Samsung Life), who is one win away from an Olympic gold medal. She did not let her guard down, saying, "Because other players are also strong, everyone is a rival."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 4th (Korean time), An Se-young defeated world No. 8 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia) 2-1 (11-21, 21-13, 21-16) in the women's singles semifinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, France. She advanced to the final in this event for the first time in 28 years since Bang Soo-hyun, the gold medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games, as a Korean player.

The final opponent, scheduled for 5:55 p.m. on the 5th, is world No. 9 He Bingjiao (China). She is a dark horse who defeated Chen Yufei, who was considered a favorite along with An Se-young in the quarterfinals. She also won the semifinal by walkover against world No. 4 Carolina Marin (Spain). In their head-to-head record, An Se-young leads 8 wins to 5 losses. However, her momentum is fierce, having not lost a single set from the group stage to the quarterfinals. She even saved her energy by winning the semifinal by walkover, so she cannot be underestimated.

An Se-young reached the final with relatively more difficulty. In the quarterfinals, she lost the first set to world No. 6 Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) but came back to win. The flow of the semifinal was similar. At the start, perhaps not fully warmed up, she conceded four consecutive points and did not get a chance to rebound for a while. Instead, she allowed chance balls, was hit by smashes, and repeated receiving errors. Backhand strokes frequently hit the net or went out of bounds.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

An Se-young began to dominate the match only in the second set. She shook her opponent left and right, front and back, and accurately targeted open spots with smashes. She displayed sharp attacks consecutively and took the set by an 8-point margin. In the third set, she relentlessly pressured Tunjung with regained attacking power and tireless stamina. Although she allowed a 16-13 comeback, she secured the ticket to the final with a surprise diagonal smash and by inducing consecutive errors from her opponent.

She has the confidence to overturn the match at any time. After the match, she said, "(Losing the first set) is very burdensome, but it sharpens my mind even more," adding, "It is the power that keeps pushing me forward."

"I used to be too greedy and impatient. Because of those experiences, I think I have become more comfortable even when behind. I kept telling myself, 'I can do it,' and 'If I score point by point, I will catch up someday,' and clenched my teeth. Please cheer for me so I can give my best in the final stage. I will finish it romantically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.