Source:REUTERS/Ann Wang
[Saba Sports News] The badminton competition at the Paris Olympics came to a close. In the women’s singles final, Korean teenage sensation An Se-young defeated Chinese player He Bingjiao 2-0 to easily claim the Olympic badminton women’s singles gold medal. Surprisingly, during the post-match press conference, An Se-young did not thank her country for nurturing her. Instead, she started criticizing the Korean Badminton Association. An Se-young stated that her knee injury was more serious than expected, expressing disappointment in the national team’s hasty diagnosis. After winning the championship, she began to consider it might be difficult to continue moving forward with the national team. Following the press conference, An Se-young posts message on social media, expressing her thoughts on athletes deserving protection and management, emphasizing the importance of communication over rights. According to the Korean news agency, An Se-young’s statements seem to be in response to the injury she sustained during the women’s singles final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Last October, An Se-young endured the pain to win the final match, eventually securing the championship. Post-match, she was diagnosed with a torn right knee ligament, but the national team’s medical staff opted for a conservative treatment, hoping the ligament would heal on its own. Following the knee injury and in preparation for this Olympics, An Se-young faced difficulties. Since the initial misdiagnosis, she played through the pain; the hospital did not provide useful information but only administered painkillers without a proper treatment plan. It wasn’t until the end of last year, during a reevaluation, that the situation was found to be deteriorating, leading to the decision for surgery.