AT just 22, South Korean badminton sensation An Se Young has achieved what most players can only dream of. From clinching the world No. 1 ranking to bagging Olympic gold in Paris last August, the pint-sized star has conquered every major milestone in the sport.
On Thursday, the defending champion delivered a commanding performance at the Axiata Arena, cruising past Vietnam’s world No. 34 Nguyen Thuy Linh 21-15, 21-15 in just 38 minutes to secure a quarter-final spot.
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Despite her stellar accomplishments, An has no plans to slow down. Fresh off recovering from a left knee injury that nearly ended her career last year, she is determined to keep pushing her limits.
“I am glad to have fully recovered from the injury and want to continue working hard to improve my game. Not thinking about the Los Angeles Olympics just yet,” she told New Straits Times.
An, who has collected 23 World Tour titles, including the prestigious 2023 world championship and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games gold, remains unfazed by challenges from her competitors.
World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China recently expressed her ambitions to dethrone her, but the South Korean isn’t losing sleep over it.
“I know that Zhi Yi is closing in on the No. 1 spot, but I am not going to put any stress on myself by singling her out as my main rival. Many of the players on the tour are strong. I just want to focus on doing well in these tournaments and other events on the tour,” she said.
Away from the court, though, she found herself in a heated dispute with the Badminton Korea Association (KBA).
She has openly criticised the association for failing to prioritise player welfare and accused it of favouritism.
She claimed that she was forced to compete while injured for over a year leading up to the Paris Olympics, a situation that left her frustrated with the lack of support.
“I have not seen any drastic changes, but I’m not too concerned with those issues as I focus on playing in tournaments without worrying much about other matters,” she said.
With her rivals under pressure to catch up, An’s dominance looks set to continue as long as she remains injury-free.
