How Much Heartache Did She Endure... An Se-Young Returns After Two Months, Finally in Tears

Returned to competition through National Sports Festival after Paris Olympics
Focused solely on rehabilitation following criticism of the national team
Fans watching the interview shouted "Don't cry"

After winning the gold medal in the women's singles badminton event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, An Se-young (22), who had criticized the Badminton Association's issues, returned to official competition after two months and shed tears.

On the 9th, during the preliminary round of the women's general team event at the 105th National Sports Festival held in Miryang, Gyeongnam, An Se-young won her second singles match. In a post-match interview, when asked by reporters if her love for badminton had grown, she choked up and eventually burst into tears. Struggling to hold back her tears, An Se-young said, "I want to sincerely thank the fans who have loved my badminton a lot, and I feel good to be able to return. I will show you good performances more often in the future."

On the 9th, at the Miryang Badminton Stadium in Miryang-si, Gyeongnam, after the badminton match between Busan Samsung Life's An Se-young and Incheon International Airport's Shim Yoo-jin at the '105th National Sports Festival,' An Se-young was seen shedding tears while giving an interview to the press.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This match was An Se-young's first official game since the Paris Olympics. Even before the match started, numerous fans gathered, and when An Se-young appeared, they cheered loudly, chanting "An Se-young fighting." Although she made a few small mistakes early in the game, she gradually found her rhythm and calmly led the match. She took the first set 21-14 by inducing errors from her opponent, Sim Yoo-jin from Incheon, and finished the second set dominantly at 21-9. After securing the victory, she smiled and waved to the fans in response. In the post-match interview, An Se-young said, "I was really happy to play the match I had been waiting for two months in front of domestic fans, and I am satisfied that things went well as I had prepared. During the Olympic preparations, I had no rest at all, but after the tournament ended, I was able to rest and prepare well during the long break."

Earlier, right after winning the Paris Olympic gold, An Se-young drew attention by publicly criticizing the Badminton Korea Association's management issues, including player management and support. Especially after An Se-young's criticism, many problems within the association and its president Kim Taek-gyu were revealed, leading to an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and subsequent repercussions.

When reporters asked An Se-young if the investigation was proceeding in the desired direction, she replied, "I have nothing to say about that." After gathering her thoughts, An Se-young added, "I am grateful for the many fans who supported me, and I wanted to express my feelings to them even a little. My ankle condition has improved a lot, so I will show good performances in upcoming international tournaments." She also expressed her determination, saying, "Having achieved the dream of an Olympic gold medal, I will now move forward toward new goals."

Meanwhile, although An Se-young won the women's singles badminton gold medal at the Paris Games for the first time in 28 years, she recently lost the world No. 1 ranking to China's Chen Yufei. On the 8th, An Se-young dropped to second place in the World Badminton Federation (BWF) rankings with 100,377 points, while Chen Yufei took first place with 101,682 points. Regarding this, An Se-young said, "I think if I continue to play and enjoy badminton as my true self, I will find myself back at world No. 1 before I know it."