Source:REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
[Saba Sports News] In the recent women’s singles final of the 2025 Paris Badminton World Championships, Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi defeated Chinese player Chen Yufei 2-0 (21-9, 21-13), winning the women’s singles gold medal for the third time after a three-year interval. Throughout this World Championships, except for the women’s singles semifinal which went the full distance, Yamaguchi won all her other matches in straight games. She was the sole Japanese player to reach the final. By winning against Chen Yufei, the gold medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Yamaguchi achieved a record third World Championships title for Japan. After the match, Yamaguchi and her final opponent, Chen Yufei, had a long conversation. Recently, Yamaguchi revealed the content of their dialogue in an interview: “I really asked her, ‘Are you okay?’, and she replied, ‘I’m fine’.” She praised her opponent, saying: “Although I’m still a bit worried now whether she is really okay, during the match, if I showed even a slight lapse or revealed a weakness, she could have defeated me. That sense of fear was very strong. I felt once again that she is a truly formidable player.” It must be said that there is always mutual respect and admiration in conversations between top players.