Ahn Se-young, Chinese Masters' starting women's uniform Kim Hye-jung and Gong Hee-yong also won the round of 32

Nov 19, 2024

Ahn's match. Photo courtesy of the Badminton Korea Association

Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who returned, made a good start at the Chinese Masters.

Ahn Se-young, world No. 1 in women's singles, beat Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 2-1 (24-22, 15-21, 21-19) in the first round of the '2024 Badminton Federation (BWF) World Tour in Shenzhen, China, on the morning of the 19th.

This Chinese Masters is Ahn's second international competition since the 2024 Paris Olympics. After missing the international competition after recovering from his injury and taking a break for about two months after the 'decision speech' incident at the Paris Olympics, he returned to the international competition through the Danish Open (October 15-20) last month and regained the world's No. 1 position by ranking second.

Even after the Danish Open, the Korean badminton community continued to post aftershocks of 'decision speech'. The Korea Badminton Association has not shown any attitude of reflecting on various poor administrations that have emerged in the wake of Ahn's remarks. In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the final results of its investigation into the Badminton Association on the 31st of last month and demanded the dismissal of Chairman Kim Taek-kyu, along with an order to correct the problems raised by Ahn Se-young.

In the meantime, Ahn Se-young entered the break again to recover from her recurrence of right knee and ankle injuries during her participation in the Danish Open, skipped the 2024 Korea Masters (5-10th) and the Japanese Masters (12th-17th), and started to check her condition by returning to the Chinese Masters for the second time since the Paris Olympics.

Gong Hee-yong (left) and Kim Hye-jung roaring after winning the women's team final four doubles at the 2022 Uber Cup. Photo courtesy of the Badminton Korea Association

Ratchanok Intanon, the first opponent of the day, was ranked 18th in the world with 7 wins and 1 loss against each other, and Ahn Se-young was expected to win. Moreover, Ahn Se-young did not tap her right knee for the first time in a recent competition, indicating that her injury has improved considerably.

Unlike the controversy over uncomfortable communication with the coaching staff at the Danish Open, coach Ronnie Agustinus of Indonesia changed when he conducted the bench with coach Sung Ji-hyun for the first time since the Paris Olympics.

Compared to this green light, it was a somewhat struggling first game. be dragged around for a whole gameHe got off to a shaky start, winning 24-22 after a close deuce match following a fierce last-minute chase. In the second game, Ahn Se-young, who failed to gain the upper hand in the beginning, was virtually completely defeated 15-21, allowing the balance of the game to be balanced.

In the third game, Ahn Se-young finally showed her unique second-half strength and physical strength and ended the game leisurely. At one point, he suffered his first crisis, trailing 6-9, but quickly turned around 11-10 with his ability to manage the game, causing an opponent's error, and was later chased until 19-20, but he caused the last Intanon's error without shaking at all due to the world's No. 1 prestige.

In the women's doubles round of 32, Kim Hye-jung (Samsung Life Insurance) and Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank) defeated Thailand's Ornicha Yiphonparn-Sukita Suwa by 2-0 (21-17, 21-19).

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