There is little doubt that An Seyoung is currently the best female shuttler in the world. The Olympic champion from Korea, after a tumultuous end to 2024, has been in red-hot form this year, having won six titles on tour, including three out of the four Super 1000 crowns. But on Saturday, she had to relinquish her crown as the reigning World Champion, as she went down in the semifinal 15-21, 17-21 in 58 minutes. And defeating her – for the second time this year – was former Olympic Champion, China’s Chen Yufei.
Chen’s victory set up a title clash against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, in what is a proper throwback to the golden generation of women’s singles, a decade of such a variety of superstars that included India’s very own PV Sindhu. Incidentally, Sindhu’s heartbreaking defeat on Friday in the quarterfinals against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia meant she fell agonisingly short of a historic sixth medal at the World Championships. On the same day, Chen and Yamaguchi joined Sindhu – and the legendary Zhang Ning – as now the only four female singles players in the world to have five World Championships medals in their collection.
Chen’s win against the Korean superstar is perhaps simultaneously a shock and not one. One of the most complete players of her generation, the Tokyo champ is known for her immaculate footwork and a game that has no evident weakness, and hence she has had consistent success against An. Her semifinal win actually tilted the Head-to-Head record in her favour at 14-13 against An. It is also a wonderful storyline, given Chen was so heartbroken by her early defeat at Paris 2024, that she paused her badminton career, went to Australia and completed an English language course, and returned to the tour in February, rejuvenated from her break.
For her part, An felt that nothing worked for her. “To be honest, I felt like I played stupidly, I was afraid of making mistakes,” An told BWF. “My preparation for the World Championship was very good. I did my best before the competition, but I felt like I didn’t show my abilities. I feel really sad right now. I lost my way from the beginning. I couldn’t find a way to make the rallies, to control the match… if I have to sum up, my clears, my smashes, my timing… everything was bad… so I guess I lost everything at the same time.”
On Sunday, a victory for either player would be momentous. If Chen triumphs, she’d end a long wait for China to witness a women’s singles champion. A lot of great players have tried and failed – thanks in part to Sindhu’s incredible record of beating the top Chinese shuttlers since 2013 – so much so that China haven’t had a champion since 2011. If Yamaguchi wins, she will equal Carolina Marin’s record of winning three World Championships gold medals. Either way, it will be a reminder that the greatest women’s singles era the game has seen, still has two flagbearers competing for the biggest titles in the world.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
