"Seeing An Se-young reminds me of myself in my prime," legendary Olympic champion praises... "She wins every time she competes; I always aimed for the top as well"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

South Korea's badminton "Queen," An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), received high praise from Indonesia's legendary badminton player Susi Susanti (55). Susanti compared An to herself during her playing career and spoke highly of her.

Indonesia's Bola.com reported on the 10th (Korean time), "Susi Susanti, a legend of Indonesian badminton, shared her thoughts on An Se-young, who possesses mental strength and dominates the world badminton scene today."

Previously, Susanti praised An, saying, "One of the players I watch is An Se-young. She wins every tournament she enters," adding, "I am not trying to make a direct comparison, but sometimes when I see An Se-young, I feel she resembles me during my playing days."

She continued, "I also had a clear goal whenever I entered a tournament. It was to win."

Susanti is a legendary player representing Indonesian badminton. As the women's singles gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she brought Indonesia its first historic Olympic gold medal. She is also famous for recording a streak of 59 consecutive wins in women's singles from 1993 to 1994.

A legend who left her name in world badminton history praised An Se-young by comparing her to her own active career.

Indeed, An Se-young's performance this season is astonishing. On the 8th, at the Yeosu Jinam Gymnasium in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Jeolla Province, An defeated Yamaguchi Akane (Japan), ranked second in the world, 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the women's singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500) to claim the top spot.

With this victory, An Se-young lifted her 11th championship trophy of the season. She achieved 11 wins in a single season for the second consecutive year, following last year. She once again matched the record of 11 wins in a single season set by Japan's Kento Momota in 2019, having done so last year as well.

She has played 72 matches this year, recording 71 wins and 1 loss. Her win rate reaches an impressive 98.6%. She is on a 55-match winning streak after losing to China's Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March. In particular, An Se-young is challenging Susanti's record of 59 consecutive wins in women's singles. If she adds four more wins, she will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Susanti; if she secures five more victories, she will write a new history with a 60-match winning streak.

While highly evaluating An Se-young's dominant performance, Susanti also emphasized the mental strength required of a champion. He said, "Athletes must be warriors. They are not simply people who play matches. Anyone can just play a match."

He continued, "Where there is a will, there is a way. Ultimately, what matters most is an athlete's mental strength and attitude," explaining, "I always emphasize that athletes should be warriors, not merely people who play matches."

The outlet noted, "Susanti emphasized that there are things that must never change, even as the era shifts. That is the mental strength of a champion."

He added, "Susanti believes it is not enough for an athlete to simply have the ability to play matches," stating, "More important than that is having determination and strong will, as well as a clear goal one wants to achieve every time they step onto the court."

Susanti also emphasized that it is not always the right answer for players to unconditionally participate in many tournaments. While securing world ranking points is important, it meant that one should carefully select which tournaments to enter and have a definite goal of winning.

Susanti mentioned An Se-young again as an exemplary case. He stated, "There is no need to compete with ambition in every tournament," adding, "But whenever I entered a match, I definitely wanted to win. Simply participating was not enough."

He also advised, "We cannot just keep playing matches. We are human and have limits," explaining, "Rest periods for training are necessary because we cannot develop if we do not supplement our weaknesses through training."

Bola.com stated, "For Susanti, a true champion is not determined by how often they step onto the court," emphasizing, "What matters is how thoroughly one prepares to achieve the highest goal."

An Se-young will also focus on physical management after handling a tight schedule. She will rest without participating in the Kumamoto Masters opening on the 11th, and then plans to challenge for her 12th win of the season at the BWF World Tour Finals held in Hangzhou, China, in December.

Bola.com also offered praise for An Se-young. The outlet evaluated highly, "An Se-young, the badminton genius from South Korea, has grown into one of the most powerful players in the world women's badminton scene," noting, "At the age of 24, she has already secured two World Championship titles and the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original