An Se-young Aims for Back-to-Back Asian Games Badminton Gold as South Korea Competes in Multiple Finals
Quick Look
- Badminton world No.
- 1 An Se-young will face rival Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, seeking to become the first back-to-back champion since 1962.
- South Korea also contests gold in women's doubles and women's +86kg weightlifting, while the football and handball teams play Japan in semifinals and bronze medal matches.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
An Se-young is the reigning Asian Games women's singles badminton champion and world No. 1. She has an eight-match winning streak against rival Akane Yamaguchi, including a win in the team competition at these Games. South Korea seeks to end gold medal droughts in women's doubles since 2002 and women's weightlifting +86kg.
By Yoo Jee-ho
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- Badminton star An Se-young has made a career out of making history and will try to make more Tuesday, when she plays in the women's singles final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in central Japan.
An, world No. 1, will battle her longtime rival from Japan, Akane Yamaguchi, for the women's singles gold medal at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, just northwest of the main host city, Nagoya.
An has cruised through her competition so far, winning all of her matches without dropping a game. An has an eight-match winning streak against Yamaguchi and also beat the Japanese veteran in the singles during the team competition here last week.
With another win Tuesday, An will become the first back-to-back women's singles champion in Asian Games badminton history, dating back to 1962.
South Korea will also compete for gold in the women's doubles, where Lee So-hee and Baek Hana will play Lin Shengshu and Tan Ning of China.
Lee and Baek won silver at the 2023 Asian Games. They are trying to become the first South Korean duo to win gold in the women's doubles since 2002.
Also on Tuesday, weightlifter Park Hye-jeong will try to defend her gold medal in the women's +86-kilogram event.
No South Korean female weightlifter has won consecutive Asian Games gold medals.
Park will be up against Li Wenwen, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who missed the 2023 Asian Games due to an injury, and Ouisal Ikhlef of Qatar, a rising star in the women's heaviest division.
The women's football team will take on the host nation Japan in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, about 100 kilometers east of Nagoya. The Taegeuk Ladies have never won an Asiad gold, with only three bronze medals to date
In Nagoya, the men's handball team will face Japan in the bronze medal match, with South Korea looking to return to the podium after finishing in fifth place three years ago.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
An Se-young will win the women's singles badminton gold medal
Likely · Within days
South Korea will win gold in women's doubles badminton
Possible · Within days
Open Questions
- Will An Se-young maintain her perfect game record in the final?
- Can Lee So-hee and Baek Hana overcome their silver medal finish from 2023 to win gold?
- Will Park Hye-jeong defend her title against Olympic champion Li Wenwen?
