An Se-young's surprising remark: "I am still lacking" — The queen of badminton dreams of "perfection" beyond being the world's strongest [On-site in Ichinomiya]

*This content was translated by AI.

There were no upsets. The gold medal in women's singles badminton at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games belonged to An Se-young (24, Samsung Life). An had the highest probability of winning a gold medal among all Korean athletes at this tournament, and she actually stood on the top step of the podium with the greatest ease.

The stage was the women's singles final held on the 29th at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. World No. 1 An Se-young secured a decisive victory over No. 3 Yamaguchi Akane (Japan) with a score of 2-0 (21-17, 21-9). An achieved a "perfect gold medal" by not losing a single game from the Round of 32 and Round of 16 on the 26th through to the final that day. She also accomplished the "great feat" of becoming the first player in Asian Games history to win back-to-back titles in women's singles badminton, following her victory at the 2022 Hangzhou (China) Games.

The content of the match was equally overwhelming. In the second game of the final that day alone, An secured a dominant victory by a margin of 12 points. Despite it being the final stage, An ended the second game in just 22 minutes and roared in triumph. Earlier in the semifinals, she held down the first game against Chen Yufei (China), who had once been An's nemesis, with a score of 21-5. From the Round of 32 to the quarterfinals, she limited her opponents' scores to 10 points or fewer per game. An did not fall short of the expectations placed upon her in the slightest.

His reflection on the tournament, "I played with intense enjoyment and engaged in many plays I wanted to execute, so I have no regrets," also reveals his own satisfaction. He mentioned having lost one game (the second game) to Yamaguchi during the team event semifinal against Japan, stating, "I learned a lot. In that process, it made me stronger regardless of the outcome," while adding, "If I were to grade my performance at this tournament, it would be around 90 points."

He truly displays the form of an overwhelming No. 1 with no rivals, yet there is no arrogance. This is the reason behind his "surprising remark" that he is "still lacking." After the medal ceremony, when meeting with reporters, he assessed, "My attacking power is still insufficient." Despite showing dominant strength, the explanation from the "world's strongest" is that there is still room for further development.

An Se-young said, "Chen Yufei can hit accurately (with attacks) from any angle, but I am not yet at that level," adding, "I need to practice more attacking and continue to develop it." Even though she has no rivals, An is preparing to rise to the next level. "I think that is how one becomes a player closer to perfection." At the end of the reason why the undisputed world's strongest does not let her guard down lies the word "perfection."

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*This content was translated by AI.