AN Se Young makes it to the semis

Great opposition on court 1 with AN Se Young and HE Bing Jiao fighting for a ticket in semifinals. The two champions already won the French Open. The world number 1 was crowned in 2018 when the Chinese got the title twice in 2016 and 2022. Their last 6 battles had the same issue with the Korean as a winner. Can HE Bing Jiao stop the streak ?  

The match begins and a large bandage on AN Se Young right knee can be noticed. The 2023 World Champion injured herself during the 2023 Asian Games and had to throw the towel during the 2024 India Open after causing more damage to this same knee. Was it because of this injury or HE Bing Jiao’s great shape ? In any cases, it is the Chinese who is taking the lead in the first game (11/5). But the world number 1 comes back from nowhere. At 10/14, she chooses to accelerate and scores 8 points in a row. She takes the opening game 21/18. 

Tight second game. None of the players are taking a real advantage on the scoreboard. Money time comes and just like in the opening game, it is AN Se Young who finds the mental keys to finish the job 21/18. We hope she will recover enough for the huge battle coming tomorrow. Indeed, a superb semifinal is coming where she will face TAI Tzu Ying. It will be a rematch of the 2024 Malaysia Open final where the world number 1 won an amazing 58-minute battle. In the other quarterfinal, the silver medalist of the 2020 Olympics played a serious badminton against Aya OHORI (n°13, Japan) : 21/17 21/10.   

AN Se Young : “At first, I had some physical problems and then after I got used to it and I managed it. It is always difficult to play against Chinese players. (…) I had good results last year, but now physically speaking I am not really in good shape. I am now world number 1, and I will try to keep that ranking. So, I am trying my best at the moment to solve all the physical problems.”