World No. 1 badminton women’s singles player Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance) will face her “nemesis” Chen Yufei (China, World No. 3) in the quarterfinals of the World Championships.
Ahn came from behind to defeat Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) 2-1 (16-21 21-10 21-11) in the Women’s Singles quarterfinals at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday (May 25).
This marks the second consecutive year that Ahn has reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships after last year’s event in Tokyo, Japan.
With seven top-10 finishes on the BWF World Tour this year, Ahn has become the world No. 1. She is the first South Korean player to reach the top spot in the women’s singles rankings in 27 years.
Ahn is making history in Korean badminton and will be looking to add another milestone to her resume at the World Championships. No South Korean player has ever won the men’s or women’s singles title at a World Championships. Ahn entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed after being ranked No. 1 in the world, and is just two wins away from the title after reaching the quarterfinals.
Okuhara was the ace of Japanese women’s badminton before the rise of current world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi (JPN). She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She dominated the women’s singles at the 2017 World Championships in Glasgow and rose to world No. 1 in 2019.
In the first set of the quarterfinals, Okuhara looked like she had studied Ahn’s game. Ahn struggled with Okuhara’s skillful game management and fell behind 14-20, eventually dropping the first set.
After regrouping, Ahn scored back-to-back points at the start of the second set to take control of the match. Her tactic of taking advantage of her opponent’s physical strength by forcing long rallies worked. Compared to the first set, Okuhara’s movements were slower. Ahn, on the other hand, used a variety of strong and weak attacks to build a huge 11-4 lead.
With her long defense, Ahn turned the match around by taking the second set 21-10.
At 10-10 in the third set, it was Ahn who broke through with back-to-back points. In the decisive third set, Okuhara’s errors piled up. Ahn seized the opportunity and took the third set 21-11 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Chen Yufei joined Ahn in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 (21-17 21-12) win over Wang Jiyi (China, World No. 11).
This will be Ahn’s seventh meeting with Chen Yufei this year. In their career head-to-head, Ahn leads Chen Yufei 5 wins and 10 losses. However, she holds a 4-2 head-to-head advantage this year.
Tai Tzu-ying (Chinese Taipei, World No. 4), one of the “big four” in women’s badminton, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Carolina Marin (Spain, World No. 6), losing 0-2 (16-21 14-21). Marin will meet World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) in the semifinals.
South Korea, a ‘doubles powerhouse’, had players in both the men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles punch their tickets to the quarterfinals.
In the women’s doubles quarterfinals, Kim So-young (31, Incheon International Airport) and Gong Hee-yong (27, Jeonbuk Bank) defeated Thailand’s Jonggolpan Kittharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 2-0 (21-19 21-19).
After winning the Australian Open earlier this month, Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong have now won four international titles this year. The pair, who are riding high after winning the Japan Open last month and the Australian Open recently, will meet Indonesia’s Afriyani Rahayu and Citi Padia Silva Ramadanti in the quarterfinals.
Rahayu and Ramadanti defeated world No. 2 Lee Sohee (29, Incheon International Airport) and Baek Hana (23, MG Saemaul Bank) 2-0 (21-12 21-14) in the round of 16.
In men’s doubles, Kang Min-hyuk (24)-Seo Seung-jae (26, Samsung Life Insurance) dismissed Indonesian veterans Mohamed Asan-Hendra Setiawan 2-0 (21-19 21-17).
Their momentum from the Australian Open carried over to the World Championships. Facing the three-time defending World Champions Asan and Setiawan in the quarterfinals, Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae dominated the match to reach the final four.
Seo also reached the quarterfinals in mixed doubles, where he was paired with Chae Yoo-jung (28, Incheon International Airport). The pair defeated Thailand’s Teachapol Puavaranukro and Safsiri Taerathanachai 2-0 (21-12 21-16).
They will face Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the semifinals. 카지노
Meanwhile, SPOTV, SPOTV ON and sports OTT service SPOTV NOW will provide satellite coverage of key events at the Japan Open. It will also be broadcast live on SPOTV ASIA. SPOTV Asia broadcasts to 13 countries in Southeast Asia and offers a wide range of content, including the tennis Grand Slam events Wimbledon and the US Open, the men’s professional tennis ATP Tour, motorcycle racing event MotoGP (GP), World Table Tennis (WTT) table tennis events, BWF (Badminton World Federation) badminton events, and the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Sport Climbing World Cup.