An Se-young: "I shouldn't have made that gesture; I think I need to reflect on it" [Ichinomiya On-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

An Se-young (Samsung Life), who led South Korea to victory in the first singles match during the semi-final women's team badminton match between South Korea and Japan at the 2026 Aichi·Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games, bowed her head while saying she "needs to reflect" on her expressions that showed visible frustration during the game.

On the 23rd, An Se-young took the court as the first singles player in the semi-final women's team badminton match against Japan at Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, for the 2026 Aichi·Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games. After defeating Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-9, 18-21, 21-11), she met with reporters and said, "I kept making strange and easy mistakes, giving away points too easily to my opponent, so I expressed that I needed to focus. I shouldn't have made that gesture," reflecting on her actions.

On this day, An Se-young comfortably won the first game 21-9 to take an early lead, but struggled in the second game against her opponent's speed and ultimately lost it. From An's perspective, she was particularly frustrated as she repeatedly gave away points that she shouldn't have, displaying expressions and gestures full of regret. After the match, An reflected, "I think I need to reflect on myself."

Although she lost the second game and allowed the score to tie, causing a brief moment of uncertainty, An Se-young regained her focus in the third game and won comfortably 21-11, leading her team to victory in the first singles match. An said, "My opponent Yamaguchi increased her speed significantly, which made it difficult for me to keep up, but I was able to follow through until the end in the final game and execute my own play well, so I think that felt even better."

She also expressed her strong desire for the team gold medal. An said, "Most matches are individual competitions. Team events don't happen often throughout the year and are special, which makes me feel even more attached to them. That's why I want to win even more. For me, the team event feels even more significant, so I really want to win. It's not just about performing well on my own; we truly need to come together as a team, which makes it even more special." She added with a smile.

Following her victory in the quarter-finals the previous day and once again taking an early lead in the first game today, An Se-young, who now needs to cheer for her older teammates from the Lee Je (CEO) team, said, "I must do well so that we can bring home the gold medal," while also adding encouragement: "I hope my teammates can play without pressure and perform their best."

In the badminton team event, matches are played in the order of singles-doubles-singles-doubles-singles, with a maximum of five games. The first team to win three games is declared the winner. Following An Se-young, the doubles pair Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee will play in the second doubles match, Shim Yu-jin in the third singles match, and the doubles pair Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong in the fourth doubles match, with Kim Ga-ram taking on the fifth singles match. In the other semi-final, China and Indonesia are currently competing. The women's team final will be held at 9:30 a.m. on the 24th. South Korea aims for back-to-back Asian Games titles following their victory at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

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*This content was translated by AI.