[News Figures] 'K-Shuttlecock' Ace An Se-young Strikes Tokyo, Japan

South Korea's leading female badminton player An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, world ranking No. 2) won the World Badminton Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 Japan Open.

On the 30th, An Se-young defeated world No. 5 He Bingjiao (China) 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) in the women's singles final of the BWF Japan Open to claim the title. That day, An Se-young delivered a perfect victory with impenetrable defense and exquisite attacks.

Through the World Tour news, BWF said, "An Se-young perfectly controlled her game against He Bingjiao. When the latest rankings are announced, she will become the new world No. 1." They also added, "She became the second Korean player to win the Japan Open women's singles since Hwang Sun-ae in 1981."

On the 30th, An Se-young kissed her gold medal at the awards ceremony after defeating China's He Bingjiao in the women's singles final of the Japan Open Badminton Championships held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium 1 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by AP Tokyo

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Born in 2002 in Gwangju Metropolitan City, An Se-young attended Gwangju Pungam Elementary School, Gwangju Physical Education Middle School, and Gwangju Physical Education High School, and is currently a member of the Samsung Life Insurance badminton team. Around the time she entered elementary school, she followed her father, a former boxing athlete, to a badminton club and picked up a racket for fun.

She was recognized early on as the successor to the "Shuttlecock Empress" Bang Soo-hyun (retired) due to her exceptional talent. Her main event is women's singles. In 2017, as a third-year middle school student, An Se-young participated in the national team selection tournament and defeated all the current national team players, recording a perfect 7-0 record. It was the emergence of a "shuttlecock prodigy."

After becoming a national team member, An Se-young began winning international badminton federation World Tour tournaments from 2019. She won the French Open by defeating 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist Carolina Marin (Spain) and also won the Korea Masters tournament.

From 2020, she competed in international tournaments, gaining experience by facing players such as Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), Chen Yufei (China), He Bingjiao (China), and Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) in major World Tour events and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Especially this year, An Se-young reached the finals in all five tournaments she entered, achieving runner-up at the Malaysia Open, champion at the India Open, champion at the Indonesia Open, runner-up at the German Open, and then winning the prestigious All England Open in March. She subsequently won the Thailand Open, Singapore Open, Korea Open, and Japan Open consecutively.

An Se-young often mentioned her training diary, which she has kept since first grade in elementary school, as the driving force behind her performance. The diary reportedly contains the word "effort" most frequently. Her repeated victories this year are said to be thanks to thorough physical training. During the match on the 30th, a commentator said, "Until last year, I used to suggest improvements to An Se-young during broadcasts, but now she has developed so much that there is nothing to point out."

After the final on that day, An Se-young expressed in a mixed zone interview with BWF, "I am really happy to have won this Japan Open. It was sometimes tough, but the support from the audience helped me." She continued, "My success did not happen overnight. It took six years to get here, so this is the realization of a dream. Many people supported me on the way to the top, and I am grateful for that."

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