Source: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
[Saba Sports News] Recently, Korean media previewed World No. 1 An Se-young’s participation in the Denmark Open, under the headline “Can the Badminton Empress Stand Up Again at the Denmark Open After Stumbling at the Korea Open?”. The Korean media wrote: The Badminton Empress An Se-young, who regrettably lost the title on home soil, will compete in the Denmark Open in pursuit of her eighth title this season. She will fly to Denmark with the Korean national badminton team on October 11th, with the Denmark Open commencing on October 14th. An Se-young’s record this season is already exceptionally brilliant, having won seven titles from the eleven tournaments she has participated in, and she remains firmly ranked World No. 1. At the World Mixed Team Championships, she won all five of her matches 2-0, and prior to that, at the China Masters, she also won the title with a perfect record without dropping a single game. An Se-young’s competitive form cannot be said to be poor. However, she has also faced some challenges this season; she lost to Chen Yufei in the semi-finals of the World Championships, which blocked An’s goal of defending her World Championship title. Furthermore, in the final of the Korea Open, she was swept 2-0 by Akane Yamaguchi, ending An Se-young’s nine-match winning streak (all 2-0 victories). For this Denmark Open, Chen Yufei, Akane Yamaguchi, Wang Zhiyi, and Han Yue are all scheduled to participate. In last year’s Denmark Open women’s singles final, An Se-young was defeated by the then World No. 2 Wang Zhiyi. It will not be easy for An Se-young to secure her eighth title this season, as there are many players in good competitive form at this Denmark Open.