"'Ahn Se-young's Wall ' Il Yamaguchi who shed tears '"I had no choice but to feel that I was strong.""

Aug 04, 2024

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who won, is happy. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.08.03/

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, is cheering. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.3/

"I felt that he was strong as expected."

Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, who lost to Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), the "world's No. 1" player, finally shed tears.

Ahn came from behind to win 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 21-8) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics against Akane Yamaguchi at Port Drachapel Stadium in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young won a ticket to the semifinals and only had two wins left until the gold medal.

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, is cheering. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.3/

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young's attack scene that advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.3/

Ahn went straight to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group. A total of 39 people will participate in the women's singles in this competition. Three players will be divided into 13 groups to compete for skills. The first place in each group will advance to the round of 16. Ahn Se-young, the No. 1 seed, did not play in the round of 16, but immediately reached the quarterfinals tournament.

Yamaguchi was the opponent of the quarterfinals. He is a player who remained at the top until Ahn Se-young reached the top of the world ranking. However, he was evaluated as having lost his skills due to a foot injury last year. I dreamed of a revival through the Paris Olympics.

Yamaguchi was as strong as ever. He pushed Ahn Se-young from the beginning of the first set. Ahn Se-young did not succeed in succession of attacks as if she were embarrassed. The score ranged from 14-19. Ahn bowed to 15-21 in the first set.

Ahn Se-young did not collapse. He slowed down a bit at the beginning of the second set, but he turned the game around 6-5 and got the mood right. They widened the score to 12-7. Yamaguchi chased, but he couldn't stop Ahn Se-young's back. 20-17, took the win with a nice drop shot at set point.

In the last three sets, Ahn went on a 15-6 run with relentless play. Ahn Se-young, who reached the match point at 19-8, won a ticket to the semifinals.

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who won, greets Akane Yamaguchi. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.08.03/

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who ranks first in the world in women's badminton, is aiming for the Olympic gold medal. Ahn Se-young, who won, greets Akane Yamaguchi. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.3/

Japanese media Chunichi Sports reported that Yamaguchi, the former world No. 1, lost to Ahn Se-young, the current world No. 1. He was eliminated from the quarterfinals for the third time in a row. It was a high-quality match between Korea and Japan. Yamaguchi grabbed the first set, but the second or third set gave in to An Se-young's accurate shot and phenomenal persistence. Yamaguchi was selected for the Japanese national team at the age of 15 and was called a genius girl. However, he had no ties to a medal in three Olympics. He entered the competition saying he wanted to finish with a smile. However, when he was talking, his voice trembled, saying, 'I cry.'"

According to another media outlet, the online edition of the Tokyo Olympics, Yamaguchi "Last, I felt strong as well. There was also a feeling that I didn't do well. Of course, there is also unfairness. But more than that, I was happy to play with a lot of support. (The fact that the three-set shot was taken away) I think I had no choice because the opponent was strong now. The results didn't come out well in the Olympics, but it was a game that grew all three times. I think I'm going to cry if I say it."

The badminton women's singles quarterfinal match between South Korea An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi was held at the Port de la Chappelle Arena in Paris, France on the 3rd (Korea time). Ahn Se-young, who ranks first in the world in women's badminton, is aiming for the Olympic gold medal. Ahn Se-young, who won, is cheering. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.3/

On the other hand, Ahn Se-young is the self-proclaimed `Queen of Shuttlecock.' She is currently No. 1 in women's singles at the Badminton World Federation (BWF). He is the world's top ranker who has appeared for the first time in 27 years since Bae Soo-hyun. Ahn Se-young won two gold medals in the women's individual and team events at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. However, he suffered from aftereffects for a while due to a right knee injury at the time. Ahn Se-young focused on rehabilitation and recovered quickly. He won the recent Singapore Open and the Indonesian Open, respectively, raising expectations for an Olympic medal.

After confirming the semifinals, Ahn said, `I feel so good to be able to reach the semifinals in the second Olympics. We have the next game, so I think we have to prepare well again."

epi17@sportschosun.com