Badminton News: An Se Young has reached his ninth final this year, tying Li Xue Rui’s record from 2012 when he was one win away from his sixth title of the season at the 2023 Korea Open.
The Korean picked up a morale-boosting win over arch-rival China Chen Yu Fei, who beat him in their last two matches, including the Sudirman Cup final in May.
The day saw another tense game, with Chen nearly claiming a sensational 12-19 comeback win in the third quarter.
The Chinese player tied the score at death on four match points, but An eventually managed to convert his seventh match point to stay in contention for his title defense.
An Se Young will next face Taiwan mainstay Tai Tzu Ying, who has a relatively smoother time against world champion and Japan’s top seed Akane Yamaguchi with the score at 21-17, 21-19.
Meanwhile, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty have reached their second straight final after winning the Indonesia Open, scoring their first win over Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang in three matches. The Indian pair held on in a tight second game to win 21-15 24-22.
“We didn’t give them the chance to attack, and we were the first to defend the shuttle and we didn’t give them the chance to play it in between. The shuttle is quite fast, so whoever dominates the front and center court will win points,” Chirag said.
Article Tags: An Se Young, Chen Yufei, Korea Open 2023
