Ahn Se-young Eyes Victory at All England Open
Ahn Se-young, the world’s top-ranked women’s badminton player, is gearing up to compete in the All England Open (also known as the Jeon Young Open), aiming for her fourth consecutive international title.
[Photo = SHINHWA Yonhap News]
Having dominated recent tournaments, Ahn’s participation in the All England Open, a Super 1000 event, marks a significant moment as she seeks to solidify her dominance in the badminton world.
The tournament, which started in 1899, is known as the oldest and most prestigious competition in the world. Ahn previously made a name for herself two years ago, winning the title for the first time in 27 years, since Soo Soo-hyun in 1996. The prize money has also grown significantly in recent years, with the winner set to receive approximately $87,500 from a total prize pool of $1.25 million.
This year, Ahn is coming off a successful run, including a victory against Chen Yu-fei of China at the Orléans Masters. She is expected to face some tough competition at the All England Open, with the top-ranked women’s singles players participating.
Last year, Ahn reached the semi-finals of the All England Open but lost against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. This year, if the seedings hold, a rematch with Yamaguchi could be on the cards, as Ahn has fully recovered from a knee injury that affected her performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
According to the tournament brackets, Ahn is scheduled to face Gao Fang-je (China, 17th) in the round of 32, and could potentially meet Song Xu-wen (Taiwan, 20th) and Chen Yu-fei in the round of 16 and 8, respectively. Another strong contender for the championship is Wang Zhiyi (China, No. 2), who defeated Ahn in the Danish Open final and the World Tour Finals semi-finals last year.
