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Korea’s An Se-young celebrates after winning the Olympic gold in women’s singles badminton at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Aug. 5, 2024. (pool photo)

An Se-young, the 22-year-old badminton world champion, has put South Korea at the top of the Olympic podium in the sport for the first time in 28 years by winning gold in the women’s singles event.

An cinched gold by defeating China’s He Bingjiao (27, ranked No. 9 in the world) 21-12, 21-16 at the Paris 2024 Olympics badminton women’s final, which took place at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena on Monday morning (local time). He surprised everyone by defeating Tokyo 2020 Olympics defending champion Chen Yufei in the quarterfinals to advance to the final.

When He’s shuttlecock sailed out of bounds, An kneeled and roared with delight, fulfilling her vow to finish the competition with flair.

An attacked with gusto, which landed her on the highest point of the Olympic podium, signaling the first badminton singles win for South Korea since Bang Soo-hyun claimed that title at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

An stormed her way through the competition and eventually made it to the final. During the quarterfinals and the final, An used a strategy in which she allowed her opponent to win the first set, only to use her indomitable stamina to her advantage to pressure her opponents with her iron-wall defense to win the following two sets.

She inherited her stallion stamina from her boxer father. Her father, who played badminton as a hobby, was also the reason An first stepped onto the badminton court in her first grade of elementary school.

Since then, An has become a brilliant defensive player who pushes herself and her opponents to the limit, even when she is under immense physical pressure, in order to win. Even when she moves up to 10 kilometers on the court per match, she is never the first to tire.

Korea’s An Se-young faces off against China’s He Bingjiao in the women’s singles badminton final of the Olympics at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Aug. 5, 2024. (pool photo)

When An tried out for the South Korean national badminton team, she was only 15. However, she defeated everyone — players from high schools, universities, and works teams — marking the first time in South Korean badminton history that a ninth-grader won all matches they competed in during the selection tournament. She became the youngest-ever badminton player to represent South Korea in December 2017.

The SBS TV series, “Racket Boys,” which premiered in 2021, features a character who is based on An: Han Se-yoon, a middle schooler who plays for the national team.

During the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, An was utterly defeated in her first match, losing 0-2. The loss was predominantly due to her lack of experience. Her opponent was China’s Chen Yufei. After seeing how daunting the international playing field was with her own eyes, An vowed to “prepare non-stop for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” and stuck to her promise for the next three years.

However, An faced Chen in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021, and lost once again 0-2. Despite hurting her ankle during the final moments of the second game, An showed her determination by stepping back on the court after receiving emergency treatment. Sadly, her dedication didn’t pay off, as she ended up losing.

Bursting into tears after the game, An commented, “All I did was practice, practice, practice, so I’m devastated that I failed to meet my expectations.” However, An did not let the defeat bring her down. “I gave my all for this competition to meet a disappointing outcome. Since I now know that wasn’t enough, I’ll practice even more.”

Korea’s An Se-young celebrates after winning the Olympic gold in women’s singles badminton at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Aug. 5, 2024. (pool photo)

While praised for her strong defense, An was often criticized for her slow swing speed and weak offense. She worked on her weaknesses to grow into a better player and earned the title of 2023 world champion.

She defeated Chen, her biggest rival, at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. While many expected that would enable everything to come up roses for An, the knee injury she incurred during the Asian Games weighed heavily down on her.

After suffering yet another injury, this time in her thigh muscle, An left the India Open after making it to the quarterfinals. An used the months leading up to the Olympics to rehabilitate following her injury and collect herself for the competition. 

This gold medal was the crucial piece left for An to complete the prestigious badminton “Grand Slam.” Now all that’s left is the Asian Championships. An’s reign is only just beginning. 

After her hard-fought win on Monday, An spoke candidly to reporters about some bad blood she feels with the Badminton Korea Association. 

“I’ve been really disappointed with the national team after getting injured [in Hangzhou],” she said. “I want to keep pushing forward for the sake of developing the sport, but I don’t know what the association’s plans are.” 

“I think at this point I’d do anything if it meant I could keep playing badminton,” she went on.

Taking a more critical tone, the athlete also said it was “time to reflect” on why Korea's only won a single gold medal in all this time despite all the potential in the sport of badminton. 

By Jang Pill-su, staff reporter

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