World No. 1 Ahn Se-young lost 0-2 (18-21 18-21) to her teammate and national team senior Kim Ga-eun in the first Group A match of the 2023 Badminton Federation (BWF) World Tour Final in Hangzhou, China, on the 13th.

It was a close game from the first set. The two Korean players gradually continued a seesaw game or two. Kim Ga-eun, who was considered inferior in the first place, penetrated Ahn’s unique net defense with a diagonal attack that penetrated deep into the opponent’s court.

With the score tied at 18-18, Kim Ga-eun won the match by scoring consecutive goals. In the end, she won the first set 21-18. She finished the match with a catch-off drop shot in the 23rd minute.

The second set was also a difficult one. Ahn Se-young stepped up her offensive. She bullied Kim Ga-eun with a high-clear and hairpin weight loss and a strong smash. She led 5-3.

From then on, they exchanged counterattacks. Kim Ga-eun turned the tables 8-5 with a diagonal smash in the first set. Then, Ahn Se-young countered with five consecutive points. She reversed the score and made it 10-8.

However, Kim Ga-eun came from behind again with a quick attack. She had the 11th point first and ran away to 13-10.

Usually, An Se-young, who has excellent defense, is advantageous when the rally is prolonged. An Se-young’s special feature is that gears score based on a wide range of defense. The Hangzhou Asian Games final, which met Chen Yufei (China), is a representative example.

However, Kim Ga-eun was not lagging at all in the “rally fight.” Her head-to-head response to the hairpin was impressive. She pushed Ahn to one side with a straight attack, and then successfully hit her by turning diagonally all of a sudden. She widened the gap to 17-12.

Ahn, who was on the defensive at 13-20, scored five points in a row to make the final move to catch up with Ahn. However, her concentration stood out even more. She finished the second set 21-16 and smiled.

Despite an unexpected complete defeat on the day, Ahn is unrivaled this year. She became the world’s best player in five years since her debut on the adult stage.

She swept the women’s singles. She has won the 124-year-old Open, World Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games.

As a Korean player, she has ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s singles for the first time in 27 years. She has swept 10 wins in international competitions this year alone.

Baek Mi-eun was a gold medal winner at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In the final match against Chen Yufei of China, she stayed focused and won the gold medal despite a knee injury.

She was recognized for her performance. On the 11th, Ahn Se-young won the BWF’s Female Player of the Year award. She stood tall as the “Shuttlecock Empress.”

This competition is characterized as a “king of kings” competition. It will be the grand finale of this year’s BWF international competition. Eight top rankers (teams) will grab the racket in five categories including men’s and women’s singles and mixed doubles.

After a group stage, the team will determine the champion by tournament format starting from the semifinal. Up to two players (teams) from each country can participate in each event. The total prize money is 2.5 million U.S. dollars.

In the women’s singles of the tournament, Ahn Se-young was tied to Group A with Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan, 4th in the world) Gregoria Marisca Tunjung (Indonesia, 7th in the world) and Kim Ga-eun (13th in the world).

In Group B, Chen Yufei (China, world No. 2) and Carolina Marin (Spain, world No. 5), Han We (China, world No. 8), and Bei Wen Zhang (US, world No. 9) were listed.토토사이트

Ahn Se-young’s performance has recently slowed down due to her rise at the Asian Games. She only reached the semifinals at the Japanese Masters and the round of 16 at the Chinese Masters.

Nevertheless, he was picked as the strongest candidate to win the title in this year’s event. Considering Group A’s performance, if physical conditions are smooth, he is expected to make it to the semifinals. However, he was unexpectedly struck by Kim Ga-eun, his senior in the group league.

Ahn won the women’s singles title at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bali, Indonesia in 2021. She aims to become king again in two years.