Ahn Se-young “70% superior to Chen Yu-fei “I expect a good medal in Paris.”

After injuring his knee while winning badminton gold, he won the last two tournaments this month and lost 1 win and 1 loss with his nemesis Chen Yufei, who was the runner-up. “I gained confidence that I can play without pain.”

Ahn Se-young, world number one in badminton women's singles, sits on the court and raises her hands after winning the Singapore Open on the 2nd. Ahn Se-young faced World No. 2 Chen Yufei (China) in the finals of both the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open, which were the last practice tests before the Paris Olympics, and won and runner-up, respectively.

“I wanted to show that I was healthy and confident.”

These are the words of ‘shuttlecock genius’ Ahn Se-young (22, world ranking No. 1), who returned after scoring first and second place in the ‘mock exam’ in preparation for the Paris Olympics. Ahn Se-young, who won the women's singles title at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Singapore Open (on the 2nd) and was runner-up at the Indonesia Open (on the 9th), returned to Korea via Incheon Airport on the 11th with her national team colleagues.

It has been about 11 months since Ahn Se-young reached the finals of an international competition for the second week in a row since the Korea Open and Japan Open in July last year. Ahn Se-young suffered a knee injury while winning the women's singles gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year. Afterwards, as Ahn Se-young was unable to reach the podium at her international competitions, rumors began to spread.

Ahn Se-young said, “I had a difficult time due to doubts and speculation due to the injury. She wanted to break her doubts, but she did not break them easily. Still, I think I have proven myself to some extent through this competition. “I feel light,” he said. “No matter what the situation, I played thinking, ‘It’s still 0-0,’ and I gained confidence that ‘I can play without getting sick.’ “Thanks to having a dedicated coach and trainer after my injury, my body actually became healthier than during the Asian Games,” he said.

Ahn Se-young faced Chen Yu-fei (26, China, 2nd place), her opponent in the finals of last year's Asian Games, in the finals of the Singapore and Indonesia Opens and traded 1 win and 1 loss. Se-young Ahn said, “(Chen Yu-fei) is not an opponent that you can beat again just because you beat her once,” and added, “It was good to learn in detail how to prepare and what variables to set and anticipate.”

It is highly likely that Ahn Se-young will face Chen Yu-fei in the finals at the Paris Olympics, which opens on July 26 (local time). Chen Yufei is the women's singles winner at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Seyoung Ahn was defeated 0-2 by Chen Yufei in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo tournament.

Until the Tokyo Olympics, Ahn Se-young had faced Chen Yu-fei five times and lost all five times. However, since then she has 8 wins and 7 losses in 15 head to head matches. Seyoung Ahn said, “I think my experience of beating (Chen Yufei) a lot will be helpful. “I have good memories from the Paris Stadium, so I think I have a 70% advantage,” she said. Ahn Se-young won the French Open in March this year. The competition was held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena, the badminton stadium for the Paris Olympics. Se-young Ahn said, “Now her confidence has increased a lot, and all she has to do is show (her skills). If you do well in the hellish training prepared by the coaches for the remaining period, you will be able to bring home a medal of a good color. “A lot of people are helping me, so it’s fun to think that if I believe in myself, I’ll get through it,” she said. The badminton team, including Ahn Se-young, moved directly from the airport to the Jincheon Athletes' Village in North Chungcheong Province. The national team will build a court identical to the Paris Olympic Stadium at the Jincheon Athletes' Village and continue training to adapt to the actual game before leaving the country on the 12th of next month.