SHUTTLECOCK AHN SE-YOUNG “EXCITED TO PLAY NO. 1 IN THE WORLD AND EXPECTED TO WIN NO. 1 PRIZE MONEY”

Ahn Se-young, the world No. 1 in women’s singles, expressed the confidence of a champion.”I honestly feel a little bit of pressure to be the No. 1 player,” Ahn said at the media day held at Jincheon Athletic Village in Chungcheongbuk-do on Saturday, “but I’m looking forward to playing as the No. 1 player and I’m excited.”Ahn has been at the top of the World Badminton Federation (BWF) rankings for three weeks now, after overtaking Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi on Jan. 1.Ahn has some big international events coming up next month, including the BWF World Tour Super 1000 China Open and the Hangzhou Asian Games, starting with the World Individual Championships from Nov. 21-27.”I’m having fun and training well,” said Ahn, who added, “I’m also looking forward to the World Championships, which will be my first time playing as the No. 1 player, and I’m preparing hard. I think I just need to show (my skills) like a No. 1,” she said with a smile.Ahn has the “air of a champion” after winning seven titles, three runner-up finishes and one bronze medal in 11 international events this year.Ahn, who also 스포츠토토링크 leads the season’s prize money list ($428,480), said, “I expected the first place prize. I worked hard, and I think I deserve this reward,” she said wittily, drawing laughter from the audience.”The prize money is coming into my bank account and I don’t have time to spend it now,” Ahn said, adding, “I’m saving well and I think I’ll buy a lot of gifts (for people around me) someday,” she said sensibly.That doesn’t mean she’s letting her guard down.Ahn will have to break the “big four” of Akane Yamaguchi (JPN), Chen Yuefei (CHN) and Tai Tzu-ying (TAI), as well as avoid a first round exit at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.On Chen Yufei, whom she holds a 5-10 head-to-head record against, Ahn said, “I don’t think we’ve erased our enmity yet because I’ve always beaten her hard. I think we need to play more matches.”As for the Asian Games, he said, “There were a lot of things I was disappointed with in Jakarta, so I’ve been working hard on my preparation since then, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *