The weight of the Olympics, 'World No. 1' Ahn Se-young, was so heavy that I was choking on it."
Aug 01, 2024
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Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance) is realizing the weight of the Olympics. Ahn Se-young beat France's Qu Shefei 2-0 (21-5 21-7) in the second Group A match of the women's singles qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics at Port Drachapel Stadium in Paris, France on the 1st (Korea time). Ahn Se-young confirmed her advance to the quarterfinals by winning the group. A total of 39 players will participate in the women's singles in this tournament, with 13 groups of three from each group. 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, confirming her advance to the quarterfinals early on.
The first game was a bit of a struggle. On the 28th, he beat 74th-ranked Koviyana Nalvantova of Bulgaria 2-0 in the world. The content was not very good. Ahn Se-young, who couldn't play after the Indonesian Open final seven weeks ago, seemed to have a hard time finding a real sense. Frequent mistakes prevented the gap from widening. Fortunately, in the second game, he scored zero and showed off his original skills. He recovered the sharpness of his stroke and won a great victory.
After the game, Ahn Se-young `was very nervous and wandered around a lot. I'm ashamed that I can't show 70% of my skills. "I'll make it better and better." My eyes became moist as I felt mixed emotions on the Olympic stage, which I stepped back on in three years. Ahn Se-young said "I don't know what this feeling is. He said, `I hope this is a good stimulus.'
It went as I wished. Ahn performed well in the second game. Ahn Se-young, who gave up the first point in the first set, immediately turned the game around 4-1. In a 5-2 situation, he scored with an exquisite hairpin. The in-and-out judgments, which were disappointing in the first game, were also accurate. He kept pushing the opponent under pressure, widening the score gap. They led by 15–4. The home team fans cheered, but Ahn Se-young was not shaken. Showing the difference in skills, he took the first set in 21-5 and 14 minutes.
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Ahn Se-young, who met after the game, said "The first game was a shameful game. In the second game, I changed my mind and relaxed, so I got a good result. I think I'm thinking positively because I think I've got a good performance." Then "I haven't thought about the quarterfinals yet. I don't know how it feels, but I feel a lot of pressure. My body is good, but when I felt the pressure, my body became solid. I think it's because it's the Olympics. I said I had a lot of experience, but when I came in, I was suffocated thinking that it would be the end of the game if I lost." "I just thought again that I could do it today." I think that if I do my best every day, I will go to the stage I dreamed of."
The knee condition that I was worried about is good. Ahn Se-young said "It's so good that I don't even think about it. The one on the knee was done as a precaution. You don't have to worry."
In the end, it is Ahn Se-young who has to overcome it alone. He said "Unfortunately, the trainer Sam, who wanted to come with him, couldn't come, and the foreign coach had a limit to sharing his feelings. That's why it's a little hard. "I have to show good performance, but I'm worried about what if I make a mistake. I have no choice but to think positively and enjoy it."
There was an unusual incident in which a rival and '3rd in the world'Tai Zhiying (Taiwan) failed to qualify. Ahn Se-young said, "Watching the game made me emotional. I've said a lot recently that Tie Tzu Ying is the last player, and I was very emotional because he was a player I respected. So I cried before I even started, but I want to hug you when I meet you. I think I'm getting emotional because I'm going to feel that kind of feeling someday."
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
