An Se-young Withdraws from Japan Open Due to Left Foot Injury; Clouds Gather Over Asian Games Title Defense

[Anchor]

South Korean badminton star An Se-young has decided to withdraw from the Japan Open, where she won her first-round match yesterday (July 14), due to an unexpected left foot injury. An, who is returning home shortly, is scheduled to undergo a detailed medical examination tomorrow. Her participation in the World Championships next month and the Asian Games in September will be determined based on the results.

Reporter Bae Jeonghun has the story.

[Reporter]

During yesterday's first-round match at the Japan Open against Japan's Aketchi, An Se-young, who was maintaining an overwhelming lead, was seen touching her left foot with a look of discomfort midway through the second game.

Although she continued the match, she occasionally held her left foot and performed stretches.

She finished the match with a 2-0 victory in just 32 minutes, but the pain ultimately held her back.

The Badminton Korea Association stated that An felt pain in the outer part of her left foot during yesterday's match. They added that since the condition did not improve after the match and she experiences pain even when putting weight on her foot, she has decided to forfeit the Round of 16 match scheduled for tomorrow and withdraw from the tournament.

The association noted that An had been experiencing pain in that area for some time.

With this, An's bid for a second consecutive Japan Open title has been dashed, and she has also decided to skip the China Open scheduled for next week.

An, who is returning home today, is scheduled to undergo a detailed examination tomorrow. Her participation in the World Championships next month and the Asian Games in September will likely be decided based on the test results.

An announced her withdrawal from the Japan Open on her social media, stating that while she has a minor injury, she will recover quickly and return to the court.

(Video Editing: Nam Il, Design: Han Heung-soo, Choi Ha-neul)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.