*This content was translated by AI.
Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), the Maltese star who wrote the history of badminton in 2025, almost started her sick year as the worst. Ahn Se-young, who survived the cliff edge and overcame the crisis of early elimination, put forward a goal beyond imagination that sounds somewhat shocking.
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young beat world No. 12 Michelle Lee of Canada 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 21-18) in the round of 32 strongest teams of the World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 6th.
Last year was the year of Ahn Se-young. In the BWF World Tour Finals, which ended on the 21st of last month, he beat Wang Zhi (China), the second-ranked player in the world, and broke all records that can be set in a single season. Along with the tie record (11 wins), the most wins in the women's division, and the highest winning rate (94.8%) in history, it has surpassed the cumulative prize money of $1 million ($13,175) for the first time ever.
Ahn Se-young, who set another goal of Super 1000 Slam (all Super 1000 Series titles), met Michelle Lee, who won all eight games earlier in the Malaysian Open, where she has won two consecutive games, but the game did not go as well as she thought.
The nightmare of the World Tour Finals came to mind. At that time, Ahn Se-young complained of severe thigh pain with victory just around the corner. The pain was so severe that it was difficult to walk, but it ended with a victory, but it raised concerns about the Malaysian Open, which will follow 15 days later.
Michelle Lee's attack, which stabbed every corner of the court, was taken to nothing. After chasing, Ahn Se-young tied the score 7-7, but the attack went off the line and seemed to be losing ground in the struggle, allowing the team to turn the tables again.
The flow of exchange gradually unfolded, and Ahn Se-young, who lost the lead due to the decision that Lee's attack at the end of the challenge came in narrowly at 17-17, gave up the first game after being pushed toward her body and once again attacked at the end of the line.
Ahn Se-young, who also showed an overwhelming difference in skills against top-level players, struggled with successive mistakes and attacks by opponents early in the second game, widening the gap to 6-11 and seemingly casting a shadow of defeat. He bowed down and struggled with his knees, causing anxiety about the aftereffects of the injury.
However, he slowly found the flow and quickly pursued it. Ahn Se-young, who was trying to increase his offense, pressed Lee through strong and weak control and succeeded in turning the tables with seven consecutive points. Ahn Se-young, who succeeded in turning the tables at a 16-16 tie amid the flow of hitting and receiving, scored five consecutive points and brought two games.
Three games were not easy either. Perhaps because Ahn Se-young's physical condition was not intact, Lee's attack looked sharper than ever and did not cope more easily than when he met any powerhouse.
Ahn Se-young, who is considered the best player in badminton history, gained more strength from the crisis. In a situation where they were being dragged 14-16, they tied the score with a seasoned net play and added a lucky score after scoring, and later succeeded in turning the tables with a sensational attack at the end of the line.
Ahn Se-young, who ran away by three points by winning the hairpin match, was not embarrassed by the opponent's lucky score and reached the match point with her trademark diagonal smash and induced the opponent's mistake, eventually winning. Ahn Se-young said hello to Lee and sighed with relief.
Malaysian media The Star shed light on Ahn Se-young's difficult winning process. "This sweat and sweat victory showed how difficult it is to maintain consistency after a long and tiring season, but the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist is determined to go beyond maintaining his current high skills and surpass his performance in 2025," The Star said. "Ahn Se-young did not seem to be swayed by the tight schedule."
Ahn Se-young did not deny the extreme fatigue, but emphasized that she is strongly motivated from the first tournament of the new season. According to The Star, Ahn Se-young said, "We need a little more time to recover, but the schedule is already set. As players, we have to prepare like a professional according to that schedule, he said. "I always forget what I've already achieved and try to start again. I want more championship titles. That habit keeps me going. "My driving force is to collect trophies," he said.
The main character of the highest winning percentage of all time set a higher goal. "It will be very difficult, but my ultimate goal is to finish this year undefeated," he said. 94.8% was astonishing, but Ahn was not satisfied with it. Of course, I know it's not an easy plan. "The game is always getting more difficult because a lot of players are analyzing and preparing for my game," he added.
The next opponent is Nozomi Okuhara, the world's 30th and 2017 World Championship gold medalist. In all three previous matches, they won all of them.
The only problem is physical condition. There were many mistakes, but as he has adapted to the court, if he can only shake off his worries about fatigue, he is expected to win easily. Since the matchup was staged on this day, it is expected that it will be a matchup that needs to save physical strength through a landslide victory rather than a simple victory for a bigger goal.
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*This content was translated by AI.
