There’s no shame in losing to the world’s best, Ahn Se-young.”

‘I didn’t win, but it’s okay because I played without shame,’ consoles the two-time world champion. Ahn Se-young (21-Samsung Life Insurance), the world No. 1 in women’s badminton singles, feels that losing is inevitable.

“Akane Yamaguchi (26) was upset by Ahn in the final of the 2023 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour China Open, but her aggressive attitude shone through,” said Japanese private broadcaster Fukui TV.

Yamaguchi has won six major women’s badminton singles titles, including the 2021-2022 World Championships, 2019 Asian Championships, 2013-2014 World Youth Championships and 2014 Asian Youth Championships.

On all four occasions, she was the world No. 1 for a total of 74 weeks. Yamaguchi has held the No. 2 ranking since losing the lead to Ahn Se-young in August 2023. The China Open is part of the BWF World Tour’s top-tier ‘Super 1000’ series.

Under normal circumstances, Yamaguchi would have been disappointed to lose the China Open title to Ahn Se-young in a 0-2 (10-12 19-21) defeat after reaching the fourth point of the first set and the 19th point of the second set.

However, ‘Fukui TV’ said, “Yamaguchi allowed Ahn to take the lead, but she didn’t lose her attacking rhythm. Looking at the set score alone, she lost, but she also took the lead (temporarily),” and praised her.

Ahn has reached 10 BWF World Tour Finals this season, winning eight of them. She won two titles in the Super 1000 Series, three titles in the Super 750 Series and three titles in the Super 500 Series.

World No. 1 Ahn Se-young and No. 2 Yamaguchi are the favorites to win the women’s badminton singles title at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games in China, which begins on October 2. Ahn still trails Yamaguchi 21-9 in their head-to-head record.

Ahn’s two runner-up finishes at the 2023 BWF World Tour also came against Yamaguchi. She lost 1-2 (21-12 19-21 11-21) at the Malaysia Open in the Super 1000 Series and 0-2 (11-21 14-21) at the German Open in the Super 300 Series. 바카라

Ahn has yet to win a singles title at an Asian event, including bronze at the 2022 Asian Championships and silver at the 2023 Asian Championships. Yamaguchi finished third at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.

Both will be eager to take on the women’s badminton singles at the Hangzhou Asian Games. All eyes will be on Ahn, Yamaguchi and world No. 3 Chen Yufei (25, China), who will enjoy home advantage.