PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 women’s singles star An Se-young has extra motivation at this year’s All-England with her family in Birmingham as she bids for a third title.
The 24-year-old made an impressive start to her campaign after brushing aside Turkiye’s Neslihan Arin 21-8, 21-16 in the opening round.
Se-young will face Taiwan’s Lin Hsian-ti in the second round after the latter defeated compatriot Sim Yu-jin 21-16, 21-13 in another first round match.
For Se-young, the presence of her parents and grandparents at the Utilita Arena Birmingham has given her added drive to deliver her best.
Se-young first won the All-England title in 2023 after defeating China’s Chen Yufei in the final, and she repeated the feat last year by overcoming another Chinese player, Wang Zhiyi.
“Obviously, I have my mum and dad here, so I want to do better and I want to stay until the end. But they always tell me that even if I go out halfway, I can spend time with them and play with them,” said Se-young.
At the same time, competing in Birmingham has also provided Se-young with an opportunity to improve her English.
Despite her demanding schedule as a professional shuttler, she makes time to revise and improve her command of the language.
Se-young revealed that she attends online English classes three times a week and is given homework to complete every day.
“I tend to spend my time on my bed or doing some overdue homework for my English studies because my profession is always surrounded by a lot of spectators where my energy level is tested. So when I’m on my own, I like to spend my time doing other things.
“I think my English gets better every day. So I believe it is important for me to work on my English every day,” she added.
