[Anchor]
World badminton powerhouse An Se-young has advanced to the Asian Games semifinals with unstoppable momentum, leaving her just two matches away from achieving a historic consecutive title. Yoo Tae-bin also continued his sensational run to reach the semifinals, securing a medal for a South Korean male player for the first time in 16 years.
Reporter Han Sung-hee has the details.
[Reporter]
Having easily weathered a grueling schedule of playing two matches in a single day the day before yesterday (September 26), An completely dominated the court in yesterday's quarterfinals as well.
She overwhelmed world number five Ratchanok Intanon with unexpected drop shots and her signature web-like defense.
[An Se-young is truly fantastic. It is like a whirlwind tactic.]
Unleashing powerful smashes, she secured a 2-0 sweep in just 33 minutes.
[Lee Yong-dae / Commentator: Wow, to be able to win a quarterfinal match this easily, wow.]
Immediately after the match, An drew attention by smiling brightly and taking a commemorative photo with Intanon.
[An Se-young / National Badminton Team Member: (Intanon) has been my role model, and honestly, since she is getting older now, you never know when she might retire. Every time we play, I always think it could be our last match, so I wanted to leave a picture as a memory....]
With only two matches remaining until her first-ever consecutive title, she expressed her determination to leave everything out on the court.
[An Se-young / National Badminton Team Member: Physically it feels a bit tough, but I am going to play with the mindset of, 'I'm already crazy, so let's just go all out.' ]
Having reached the semifinals with such unstoppable momentum, An will face her rival, China's Chen Yufei, today for a spot in the finals.
---
In the men's singles, Yoo Tae-bin, ranked 46th in the world—who thoroughly defeated world number 6 Shi Yuqi of China in the Round of 16—continued his sensational run.
Although he dropped the first game to Japan's ace Naraoka Kodai, ranked 7th in the world, Yoo utilized his 186cm height and jumping ability to launch powerful smashes, winning the next two consecutive games to secure a medal for a South Korean male player for the first time in 16 years.
(Video Reported by Choi Dae-woong | Video Edited by Kim Yoon-sung | Graphics by Lee Jun-ho)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.