An Se-young earns clean 2-0 victory after injury

An Se-young earned her first win 39 days after she suffered an injury. The Badminton World Federation’s No. 1-ranked player in women's singles earned a clean 2-0 victory in just 37 minutes against Pai Yu-po of Taiwan in the round of 32 in women’s singles at the BWF World Tour Kumamoto Masters held in Japan on Wednesday.

She suffered pain in her right knee during a women’s singles final against Chen Yufei at the Hangzhou Asian Games on October 7. She earned a gold medal at the event but was diagnosed with knee tendon rupture. She focused on rehabilitation and could not compete at the Denmark Open and France Open. Chen Yufei won both events. If the South Korean and Chinese continue their win streaks, the two will compete again in the semi-final of the Kumamoto event.

However, An believes she does not have to aim for the final win as she enters the event to test her condition. “There are other competitions until the end of April next year where she can qualify for the Paris Olympics. It is more important for her to finish this long race without any issues,” a member of the Badminton Korea Association said. “We won’t be desperate to get the win the Kumamoto event.”


hun@donga.com