Gold Medalist An Se-young Returns Home to Naju, Jeonnam in Triumph

Naju City, Hometown of An Se-young, Builds Gymnasium and Street
Appoints Honorary Ambassador... Citizens Cheer
"I Will Show My Own Style of Badminton," Requests Support

On the 31st of last month, at the Naju Sports Complex Multipurpose Gymnasium, player An Se-young is receiving congratulations together with her father, An Jeong-hyeon, at the Naju City welcoming event.
[Photo by Naju City]

The biggest star of the Paris Olympics, badminton player An Se-young (women's singles), returned home to Naju, Jeollanam-do, proudly wearing her gold medal.

Naju City announced on the 1st that it held a welcoming ceremony for An Se-young at the Naju Sports Complex Multipurpose Gymnasium on the 31st of last month.

The ceremony attracted a crowd of about 400 people, including Yoon Byung-tae, mayor of Naju, Shin Jung-hoon, member of the National Assembly, Lee Jae-nam, chairman of the city council, Kim Jae-eok, chairman of the Sports Association, as well as badminton enthusiasts and citizens from the Naju area.

At around 5 p.m. that day, when An Se-young entered the gymnasium, the citizens cheered her name, supporting the daughter of Naju who had returned home in glory.

An was born in Ichang-dong, Naju City. She started playing badminton following her father, Ahn Jeong-hyun, a former secretary-general of the Naju Sports Association and a former national boxing athlete.

When she was in the first grade at Naju Jungang Elementary School, she transferred to Gwangju Pungam Elementary School to learn badminton from coach Choi Young-ho, the mentor of Lee Yong-dae, and later graduated from Gwangju Sports Middle School and Gwangju Sports High School.

The welcoming ceremony began with a tribute video commemorating An Se-young’s gold medal at the Paris Olympics and her achievement as the first Korean female singles player to complete the badminton Grand Slam.

Especially moving were the video letters from An’s parents who have supported her, and the messages of encouragement from citizens proud of their hometown athlete from Naju.

The event continued with a flower garland presentation, welcoming speeches, An Se-young’s response speech, appointment ceremony as honorary ambassador, sponsorship fund delivery, and commemorative photo session.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said in his welcoming speech, “An Se-young did not simply win a gold medal; she overcame adversity within the unfair sports system to achieve this gold.”

He added, “To honor An Se-young’s indomitable spirit that never gives up, after consultation with civil society, we will establish the An Se-young Gymnasium and An Se-young Street, and introduce a youth development system to follow in her footsteps. Naju City and its 120,000 citizens will be a strong support for her.”

An Se-young responded, “I was able to dream and achieve my dreams because of the support from the citizens. I will continue to strive to show my own style of badminton that can overcome myself. I ask for your continued support.”

On the same day, Naju City appointed An Se-young as an honorary ambassador. Local organizations from her birthplace, including Yeongsanpo Nonghyup (President Jang Haeng-jun) and Yeongsanpo Development Council (Chairman Lee Ki-jun), presented sponsorship funds to encourage her.

Throughout the welcoming ceremony, An Se-young maintained a bright smile and showed the composure of an Olympic star, even making gestures to elicit louder cheers from the audience when she took the stage.

After the event, she also reciprocated the warm support of her hometown residents by taking commemorative photos one by one with badminton clubs and citizens.

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