South Korea’s rising badminton star An Se-young flashes a smile when asked about her dream of becoming the women’s world No. 1, and the first woman from her country to achieve the feat in decades.
The world No. 2 was dealt a blow at the Indonesia Open this weekend; she was injured in her quarter-final win before crashing out in the semi-final.
Yet the 21-year-old has been on a hot streak.
Photo: AP
An reached all eight individual tournament finals this year before the Indonesia Open, winning five of them and leaving her achingly close to overtaking world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
“It is a dream that you’d dream if you were an athlete,” she said before her defeat. “I am just proud of myself for stepping closer to that dream.”
It remains within reach, despite her defeat in Jakarta to China’s Chen Yufei in the quarter-finals.
“Of course I’m sad, but I don’t dwell on it too much. Instead, it made me think: ‘Oh, I need to be better,’” she said of her Indonesia Open exit.
An took up badminton in her first year of elementary school, following her parents who played the sport as a hobby.
She is not the only athlete in her family either — her father used to be a boxer for South Korea.
Often described as a “genius girl” by local media, An was only 15 when she joined the South Korean national team, winning all seven matches in the 2017 selection competition.
In 2019, she was named Most Promising Player of the Year by the BWF.
At home, An is often compared to South Korean athlete Bang Soo-hyun, who won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and was inducted into the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 2019.
Now the highest-ranked female single’s player in South Korea’s badminton national team, An said she feels a sense of “burden and happiness,” but remains focused on helping her country win more titles.
She hopes that nailing down the world No. 1 spot will inspire other South Koreans to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
“Even though I’m still young, if my hard work leads to the world number one ranking, I believe it would serve as a motivation for Korean players,” she said.
An plans to take a break to recover after the Indonesia Open, saying her next tournament appearance would be at the Korea Open next month.
Reflecting on the year so far, the South Korean ace refused to be satisfied with her five-title haul.
“I just try to give my best for each match. I just try to give my all for what’s in front of me each time,” she said.
Chasing the top ranking and with next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon, An looks set for even bigger things.
“I have many major goals, but I have not achieved a single one yet,” she said.
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