Tough luck: South Korea’s An Se-young sustained an injury to her right thigh.
KUALA LUMPUR: After capturing almost every major title in world badminton, world No. 1 women’s singles player An Se-young may have to wait longer to claim the one trophy still missing from her collection – the Asian Championship crown.
The South Korean star is likely to miss the Asian meet from April 8-13 in Ningbo, China, after suffering an injury.
According to a report by South Korea’s Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Se-young sustained an injury to her right thigh, which she first felt during her All-England semi-final clash against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
Despite the pain, the 23-year-old powered through and went on to lift the title, defeating China’s Wang Zhiyi in the final in a marathon 95-minute match.
However, upon returning to South Korea, what was initially thought to be just muscle cramps turned out to be more serious. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan confirmed a muscle tear.
As a result, she is expected to be sidelined for about a month.
In the absence of the top seed, South Korea will rely on world No. 16 Sim Yu-jin and world No. 19 Kim Ga-eun to lead their challenge in the men’s singles event.
Last year, despite battling back and knee injuries, Se-young showed remarkable resilience to clinch the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
She overcame China’s He Bingjiao in the final, ending South Korea’s 28-year wait for a women’s singles gold at the world’s biggest sporting stage.
However, with Se-young likely to withdraw from the Badminton Asia Championships, South Korea may have to wait even longer to see one of their women’s singles players crowned champion, a feat last achieved by Sung Ji-hyun in 2014 in Gimcheon.
