An Seyoung struggled to maintain momentum in the deciding game, ultimately scoring only 8 points, allowing Chen Yufei to avenge her defeat at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In the semifinals of the Super 500 Japan Badminton Masters, An Seyoung lost to Chen Yufei with scores of 18:21, 22:20, 8:21, missing the women’s singles final.
The 21-year-old An Seyoung has had a dominant season, reaching the semifinals 15 times and securing 10 titles. After defeating Chen Yufei in the Hangzhou Asian Games final to win gold, she took a break due to a knee injury and only returned this week at the Japan Masters. An Seyoung competed with her right knee heavily bandaged but managed to advance to the semifinals. However, facing Chen Yufei, also one of the ‘Women’s Singles F4’, proved challenging. After a fierce first game that she conceded, An Seyoung found herself trailing 20:18 in the second game but demonstrated mental toughness by saving two game points and winning four consecutive points to level the match. In the deciding game, An Seyoung, still affected by her knee injury, could not sustain her performance and only managed to score 8 points, granting Chen Yufi redemption for the Asian Games loss. An Seyoung had been undefeated since July, with her last loss also coming from Chen Yufei in a straight-game defeat at the Indonesia Open. Chen Yufei is the only women’s singles player to have beaten An Seyoung three times this year. Although Chen Yufei settled for silver at the Asian Games, she has performed exceptionally well in subsequent Super Series events, winning back-to-back titles in Denmark and France. Returning to Asia, she has now reached another final and aims for her third consecutive title, facing Indonesia’s Mariska in the championship match.
Shopping Cart