An Se-young (Korean안세영; Hanja安洗瑩; born 5 February 2002) is a South Korean badminton player from Gwangju, who won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event.[1] She was named 2019’s Most Promising Player of the Year and 2023's Female Player of the Year by the BWF.[2][3] She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships, making history as the first Korean women's singles player to win the World Championships title.[4] She then clinched the women's singles gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games.[5] An was also a part of South Korea’s gold medal winning teams at the 2022 Uber Cup and at the 2022 Asian Games.[6][7]

An Se-young
안세영
Personal information
CountrySouth Korea
Born (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 (age 22)
Gwangju, South Korea
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
HandednessRight
CoachRony Agustinus
Sung Ji-hyun
Women's singles
Career record312 wins, 65 losses
Highest ranking1 (1 August 2023)
Current ranking1 (29 October 2024)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Women's singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Copenhagen Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Tokyo Women's singles
Sudirman Cup
Silver medal – second place 2023 Suzhou Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vantaa Mixed team
Uber Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Bangkok Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Bangkok Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Aarhus Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Chengdu Women's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Women's team
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Dubai Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Manila Women's singles
Asia Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2020 Manila Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Alor Setar Women's team
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Yogyakarta Mixed team
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Jakarta Mixed team
BWF profile

In 2018, An was selected to join the national team and became the first junior high school student on the South Korean national team. She was part of the national junior team that won the mixed team title at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships.[8] An later represented her country at the 2018 Uber Cup in Bangkok and Asian Games in Jakarta, helping the team win a bronze medal in the former event.[9][10] In 2019, she clinched her first BWF World Tour title at the Super 300 New Zealand Open, beating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui in the final.[11]

An Se-young against Sung Ji-hyun in the semi-final of 2019 Chinese Taipei Open

Career

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An Se-young entered her first international competition when she was only 13 years old, participating in the 2015 Asian Junior Championships where she finished as quarter-finalist in the U15 girls' singles and doubles. An won her first international junior title at the U15 Korea Junior Open in 2015. An increasingly dominated the 2016 U15 junior tournaments, winning the girls' singles title at the Jakarta Open Junior International, Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix, Asian Junior Championships, and Korea Junior Open; she also won the women's doubles title at the Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix and the Korea Junior Open.

In 2017, An Se-young competed in the U17 and U19 competitions, where she managed to win the U17 Korea Junior Open, but at the Asian and World Junior Championships, she was unable to win any medals in the individual event. Meanwhile, in the mixed team, An succeeded in helping her team win the Asian junior mixed team title and also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.[8] At the end of the year, An, 15 years old, was selected for the national senior team, becoming the first ever middle school student to join the South Korean national team.[12]

She was then entrusted to strengthen the Korean team at the 2018 Asian Games, but did not manage to win any medals in the individual or team events.[13][14] In the 2018 Indonesia International Challenge, An managed to reach the final round.[15] She then won her first senior international title at the 2018 Irish Open, beating compatriot Kim Ga-eun in the final.[16]

An Se-young won her maiden World Tour title at the 2019 New Zealand Open, beating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui of China in the final.[11] Her breakthroughs continued by winning the Canada Open,[17] Akita Masters,[18] French Open,[19] and Korea Masters.[20] The continuously improving performance she displayed in 2019 brought her into the women's singles top 10 in the BWF world rankings.[21] In recognition of her achievements, the BWF awarded her the 2019 Most Promising Player of the Year.[21][22]

Due to COVID-19, An only participated in five tournaments in 2020, with her best result being runner-up at the Thailand Masters,[23] and together with the national team winning a silver medal at the Asian Women's Team Championship.[24] In 2021, in her debut at the Olympic Games, she was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Chen Yufei.[25] An then made her first final in a Super 1000 tournament, the Denmark Open, but she was unable to finish the match, and had to settle for runner-up to Akane Yamaguchi.[26] At the Indonesia badminton festival held in Bali, An managed to win all three tournaments after in the final she beats Yamaguchi in the Indonesia Masters,[27] Ratchanok Intanon in the Indonesia Open,[28] and P. V. Sindhu in the World Tour Finals.[29]

In 2022, An reached five finals in the BWF World Tour, winning the Korea Open,[30] Malaysia Masters,[31] and the Australian Open;[32] and also finished as runners-up in the All England and Japan Opens.[33][34] She also claimed the bronze medals in the women's singles at the Asian and World Championships.[35][36] Together with the South Korean women's team, she clinched the Uber Cup.[6]

An marked huge milestones for Korean badminton in 2023. She became the first ever Korean women's singles to win the World Championships title in 2023 BWF World Championships, and was the first Korean women's singles to win the Asian Games in 29 years. She also won the gold medal in the women's team at the Asian Games. In the BWF World Tour, she claimed eight titles out of ten finals,[37] and topped the women's singles ranking on 1 August 2023.[38]

In the first half of 2024 season, An played seven individual tournaments, won 3 titles in the Malaysia, French, and the Singapore Opens,[39] and also became finalist in the Indonesia Open.[40] An clinched the gold medal in the women's singles final at the Paris 2024 Olympics, defeating China's He Bingjiao 2-0, marking South Korea's first gold in this event since Bang Soo-hyun's victory in 1996.[41]

Achievements

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Olympic Games

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Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2024 Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France   He Bingjiao 21–13, 21–16   Gold

World Championships

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Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2022 Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan   Akane Yamaguchi 19–21, 12–21   Bronze
2023 Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark   Carolina Marín 21–12, 21–10   Gold

Asian Games

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Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China   Chen Yufei 18-21, 21-17, 21–8   Gold

Asian Championships

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Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2022 Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Metro Manila, Philippines   Wang Zhiyi 21–10, 12–21, 16–21   Bronze
2023 Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates   Tai Tzu-ying 10–21, 14–21   Silver

BWF World Tour (22 titles, 9 runners-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[42] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[43]

Women's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2019 New Zealand Open Super 300   Li Xuerui 21–19, 21–15   Winner
2019 Canada Open Super 100   Wang Zhiyi 21–15, 22–20   Winner
2019 Hyderabad Open Super 100   Yeo Jia Min 21–12, 17–21, 19–21   Runner-up
2019 Akita Masters Super 100   Haruko Suzuki 21–10, 17–21, 21–14   Winner
2019 French Open Super 750   Carolina Marín 16–21, 21–18, 21–5   Winner
2019 Korea Masters Super 300   Sung Ji-hyun 21–13, 21–17   Winner
2020 Thailand Masters Super 300   Akane Yamaguchi 16–21, 20–22   Runner-up
2021 Denmark Open Super 1000   Akane Yamaguchi 21–18, 23–25, 5–16 retired   Runner-up
2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750   Akane Yamaguchi 21–17, 21–19   Winner
2021 Indonesia Open Super 1000   Ratchanok Intanon 21–17, 22–20   Winner
2021 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals   P. V. Sindhu 21–16, 21–12   Winner
2022 All England Open Super 1000   Akane Yamaguchi 15–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2022 Korea Open Super 500   Pornpawee Chochuwong 21–17, 21–18   Winner
2022 Malaysia Masters Super 500   Chen Yufei 21–17, 21–5   Winner
2022 Japan Open Super 750   Akane Yamaguchi 9–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2022 Australian Open Super 300   Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21–17, 21–9   Winner
2023 Malaysia Open Super 1000   Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 19–21, 11–21   Runner-up
2023 India Open Super 750   Akane Yamaguchi 15–21, 21–16, 21–12   Winner
2023 Indonesia Masters Super 500   Carolina Marín 18–21, 21–18, 21–13   Winner
2023 German Open Super 300   Akane Yamaguchi 11–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2023 All England Open Super 1000   Chen Yufei 21–17, 10–21, 21–19   Winner
2023 Thailand Open Super 500   He Bingjiao 21–10, 21–19   Winner
2023 Singapore Open Super 750   Akane Yamaguchi 21–16, 21–14   Winner
2023 Korea Open Super 500   Tai Tzu-ying 21–9, 21–15   Winner
2023 Japan Open Super 750   He Bingjiao 21–15, 21–11   Winner
2023 China Open Super 1000   Akane Yamaguchi 21–10, 21–19   Winner
2024 Malaysia Open Super 1000   Tai Tzu-ying 10–21, 21–10, 21–18   Winner
2024 French Open Super 750   Akane Yamaguchi 18–21, 21–13, 21–10   Winner
2024 Singapore Open Super 750   Chen Yufei 21–19, 16–21, 21–12   Winner
2024 Indonesia Open Super 1000   Chen Yufei 14–21, 21–14, 18–21   Runner-up
2024 Denmark Open Super 750   Wang Zhiyi 10–21, 12–21   Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 2 runners-up)

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Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2018 Indonesia International   Shiori Saito 12–21, 13–21   Runner-up
2018 Irish Open   Kim Ga-eun 26–24, 21–17   Winner
2019 Vietnam International   Hirari Mizui 19–21, 11–21   Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

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Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 2024 Denmark Open.

Players Matches Results Difference
Won Lost
  Chen Yufei 21 9 12 –3[a]
  He Bingjiao 14 9 5 +4
  Li Xuerui 1 1 0 +1
  Zhang Yiman 2 2 0 +2
  Tai Tzu-ying 15 12 3 +9
  Yip Pui Yin 1 1 0 +1
  Saina Nehwal 2 1 1 0
  P. V. Sindhu 7 7 0 +7
Players Matches Results Difference
Won Lost
  Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 9 9 0 +9
  Aya Ohori 6 6 0 +6
  Nozomi Okuhara 3 3 0 +3
  Akane Yamaguchi 24 11 13 –2
  Sung Ji-hyun 5 2 3 –1
  Carolina Marín 10 6 4 +2
  Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 2 2 0 +2
  Ratchanok Intanon 8 7 1 +6

Notes

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  1. ^ Tournament software did not include the women's team event of the 2022 Asian Games results for head-to-head.[44]

References

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  3. ^ "YEAR-END HONOURS FOR SEO SEUNG JAE, AN SE YOUNG". 11 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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  27. ^ Na, Yeon-jun (21 November 2021). "안세영, 日 야마구치 제압…배드민턴 인도네시아 마스터스 2021 우승" (in Korean). News 1. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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  32. ^ Park, Kyung-ho (21 November 2022). "배드민턴 안세영, 호주 오픈 우승" (in Korean). Korea Sports News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  33. ^ "House of Yamaguchi in fashion at Yonex All England Open". All England Badminton. 20 March 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  34. ^ Choi, Man-sik (4 September 2022). "배드민턴 여자복식 일본오픈 호령…안세영은 일본 숙적에 또 분루 '은메달'" (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  35. ^ "'아쉬운 역전패' 안세영, 배드민턴 아시아선수권 결승 진출 실패" (in Korean). SPO TV. 30 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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  41. ^ Yang, Mary; Bulley, Jim (5 August 2024). "22-year-old An Se-young wins historic gold, beating He Bingjiao 2-0". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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