An Se-young overcomes Pornpawee Chochuwang in Korea Open final
South Korea's An Se-young beat Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong in straight sets to win the Women's Singles title at the Korea Open Badminton Championship 2022 on Sunday. Se-young claimed a 21-17, 21-18 to conclude the Super 500 event at the Palma Stadium. The 20-year-old now enjoys a 4-0 record in wins over Chochuwong in women singles. Here are more details.
In the first round, Se-young overcame India's S.K.P Kudaravalli in 21-5, 21-13 straight sets. In the second round, she breezed past Singapore's J.M Yeo 21-10, 21-10. In the quarters, the 20-year-old then tamed Japan's Saena Kawakami 21-14, 21-7. She faced a tough rival in India's PV Sindhu in the semis, whom she beat 21-14, 21-17. In the final, she outwitted Chochuwong 21-17, 21-18.
Se-young became the first home player since Sung Ji-Hyun in 2015 to win the Korea Open Final. The tournament, however, hasn't been conducted in the last two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"After the tie, I could see Chochuwong had reached her physical limit. I sensed it was my chance and created situations so Chochuwong had to run a little more," Se-young was quoted saying as per Yonhap News Agency. Se-young added that she prepares meticulously for each rival ahead of their match-ups.
Se-young has had a towering career. The number four ranked badminton player has won nine BWF World Tour titles (NZ Open, Canada Open, Akita Masters, French Open, Korea Masters, Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, BWF World Tour Finals, and Korea Open). She has finished as the runner-up on four occasions on the BWF World Tour (Hyderabad Open, Thailand Masters, Denmark Open, All England Open).
Se-young won the Irish Open in 2018. It was her first BWF International Challenge/Series title. She beat her fellow countrywoman Kim Ga-eun 26-24, 21-17 to bag the title. However, she has been a runner-up on two occasions (Indonesia International 2018, Vietnam International 2019).
Se-young has a 4-0 record in wins over India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu. Against reigning World Champion Akane Yamaguchi, Se-young has a 4-7 record in the meetings to date. She has beaten three-time World Champion Carolina Marin on two occasions whilst conceding defeat on four instances. Meanwhile, she has been win-less versus former world number one Chen Yufei in six encounters.
Se-young raced to the final of the All England Open 2022. However, she finished as the runner-up in the Super 1000 event to the reigning World Champion Akane Yamaguchi 15-21, 15-21. In the recently concluded Korea Open 2022, Se-young beat Pornpawee Chochuwang 21-17, 21-18. She now holds 175-42 wins in women's singles.
