Badminton coach braces for tough draw for world No. 1 An Se-young in women's singles
PARIS, July 24 (Yonhap) -- In pursuit of her first Olympic gold medal in Paris, South Korean badminton star An Se-young, world No. 1 in the women's singles, will face a difficult path to the podium.
Her head coach, Kim Hak-kyun, acknowledged Wednesday that An's draw was far from ideal, as she will likely face world No. 6 and her longtime nemesis, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, in the quarterfinals.
As world No. 1, An received the top seed, and ended up in Group A against two other players. If she wins the group as expected, An will earn a bye to the quarterfinals, along with world No. 2 Chen Yufei of China and third-ranked Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.
Other group winners will meet in the round of 16.
In the quarters, An will meet the winner of the match between the Group C winner and the Group D winner. Yamaguchi is expected to win Group C and also handle the likely Group D winner Supanida Katethong of Thailand.
This will then set up a too-early-for-comfort meeting between An and Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi holds a 13-10 edge over An in their head-to-head meetings. Before An rose to No. 1 in the world rankings last year, Yamaguchi held an 11-5 advantage.
An beat her Japanese rival four straight times from May last year to March this year, before Yamaguchi got her answer later in March at the All England Open.
"The quarterfinals will be the toughest challenge," Kim said of An's draw, during practice at Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris. "And Tai Tzu Ying will be difficult as well. Honestly, this is not a great draw. But what can we do? We just have to overcome this challenge."
Yamaguchi was world No. 1 in July 2023 before An dethroned her at the top the following month. Yamaguchi ranked No. 2 as recently as November last year, but has since been slowed by injuries.
"I am sure Yamaguchi will be really determined here," Kim said. "Se-young will have to be at 100 percent from the quarterfinals and on."
Lost in An's shadow is another South Korean player Kim Ga-eun, world No. 17 who ended up in Group H. If Kim upsets Tai in the quarters, she could have an all-Korean showdown against An in the semifinals.
"She has become a lot more composed than before," coach Kim said of the 26-year-old.
The coach added he is hoping for four medals from his team in Paris. In addition to the women's singles, South Korea is expected to fight for medals in the women's doubles, the men's doubles and the mixed doubles.
"It's hard to accomplish anything if you don't set a goal," Kim said. "These players have been great since last year and I have confidence in them."
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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