Gold medallist South Korea's An Se-young celebrates with the trophy during an award ceremony for the women's singles final match of the BWF World Tour China Masters 2024 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province on Sunday, November 24, 2024. - AFP
SHENZHEN (AFP) - South Korea's Olympic champion and world number one An Se-young blew away home hope Gao Fangjie in just 38 minutes to win the China Masters on Sunday.
The 22-year-old triumphed for the first time since her Paris Games exploits with a ruthless 21-12, 21-8 victory over the unseeded Gao in the southern city of Shenzhen.
It was An's fourth win on the BWF World Tour this year and cemented her status as the undoubted top player in women's badminton.
"I'm happy beyond words to win this title. I was determined to succeed," said An.
In the men's final, Denmark's third seed Anders Antonsen was an equally emphatic 21-15, 21-13 winner over sixth-seeded Indonesian Jonatan Christie.
The top players will now gear up for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals on December 11-15 in Hangzhou, China. - AFP
