Ahn Se-young is back, game changer before returning to Sudhirman Cup...South Korea to advance to quarterfinals early for second consecutive win in group stage

Apr 28, 2025

Coach Park Joo-bong, who is coaching Ahn Se-young. Capture TV Broadcast Screen

Ahn Se-young is playing in the second round of the Sudhirman Cup group stage on the 28th. Capture TV Broadcast Screen

Korea's badminton has confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals early with 'The Return of Ahn Se-young Effect' at the World Mixed Team Championships. Coach Park Joo-bong (61), who is making his debut as the head coach of the Korean national team, cruised to reclaim the top spot for the first time in eight years.

On the 28th, Park Joo-bong won the 2022 World Mixed Team Badminton Championship (Sudirman Cup) in Xiamen, China, by a score of 4 to 1 in the second Group B match against Canada.

South Korea, which defeated the Czech Republic 4-1 in the first group match the previous day, secured at least the second place in the group and secured a ticket to the quarterfinals given to the first and second places in each group. South Korea will play its final match against Taiwan on the 30th.

It was Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance) who focused the spotlight in the second game. It is his first return match in more than 40 days. She won the Jeon Young Open on the 17th of last month for the fourth consecutive time this season and missed the Asian Championship (8-13th) due to an injury to her right thigh adductor muscle.

(250427) -- XIAMEN, April 27, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Lee Jong Min (R)/Jeong Na Eun of South Korea react in the mixed doubles match against Ondrej Kral/Tereza Svabikova of the Czech Republic during the group B match between South Korea and the Czech Republic at BWF Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Providence, April 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

While Ahn Se-young was dedicated to recovering from his injury 'Original Legend' Park took over as the new head coach of South Korea, and when he returned this time, he was in harmony with his idol Park for the first time.

Coach Park excluded world No. 1 Ahn Se-young in the first game the previous day. It was to give the Czech Republic a chance to Shim Yu-jin (Incheon International Airport), another female singles member, and the Czech Republic is the weakest in Group B. Ahn Se-young, who returned from the second game, played the role of 'game changer'.

Jeon Hyuk-jin (Yonex, world No. 42), who played in one game (men's singles), withdrew 0-2 (10-21, 21-23) to Victor Lai (80th). Ahn Se-young, who competed as a runner for two games (women's singles) while losing her steam. It was a rather rough comeback. Commentator Ha Tae-kwon, who was broadcasting the game, was worried that `The physical strength and senses of the game have not yet been on track because they were concentrating on recovering from injuries and rehabilitation.'

Ahn Se-young was dragged by one or two points from the beginning of the first game (set). Opponent Michelle Lee rarely allowed the turnaround, and Ahn Se-young's mistakes were frequent. Ahn Se-young, who had been in a flurry of ups and downs since 11-11, has taken the lead since she scored twice in a row and turned around 16-14 with an excellent drop shot. Since then, Ahn Se-young, who won 21-16 first, has sweated more in the second game.

Kim Hye-jeong (left)- Gong Hee-yong. Photo courtesy of the Badminton Korea

In a similar pattern to the first game, the trend of receiving and repeating the chase continued. At one point, he ran 6-4 and was overturned 9-11. In the second game, Ahn Se-young's attack speed was not the same as before, as if it was an injury after-effect. Nevertheless, he has not lost his world No. 1 in front of an opponent who has won all five games. As he entered deuce bloodshed, Ahn Se-young finished with a 23-21 and 2-0 complete victory at the game score with a last-minute concentration.

After Ahn Se-young balanced the game, South Korea continued its momentum without hesitation. Kang Min-hyuk (Sangmu) and Ki Dong-ju (Incheon International Airport, 124th in the world) came from behind to win 2-1 (17-21, 21-14, 21-19) over Kevin Lee-Tai Alexander Lindemann (68th in the world), while Kim Hye-jeong (Samsung Life Insurance) and Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank, 9th in the world) of 4 games (women's doubles) defeated Catherine Choi-Jacklyn Chung (28th in the world) by 2-0 (21-19, 21-3).

In the five games (mixed doubles) held to calculate the points of gains and losses for ranking, Jongmin Lee (Samsung Life Insurance) and Chae Yoo-jeong (Incheon International Airport, 119th) won the grand finale with a 2-0 (21-8, 21-13).

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.