[Anchor]

World badminton powerhouse An Se-young played her first match at the Asian Games, leading the women's team to the semifinals with her overwhelming skills.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the details.

[Reporter]

Ahead of the quarterfinals against Malaysia, the women's badminton national team celebrated Baek Ha-na's 26th birthday and rallied their determination for victory.

Stepping up as the first runner, An Se-young showcased overwhelming skills befitting the world's best.

With sharp diagonal attacks pinpointing empty spaces and watertight defense, she defeated world No. 28 Karupathevan 2 to 0 in just 36 minutes, letting out a roar of victory.

Afterward, An played the role of a cheerleader for her teammates, boosting their morale.

Following Kim Ga-eun's dominant win in the third singles match, the doubles pair of Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong (Note: retaining original text names/pairs as in source - wait, source says Kim Hye-jeong and Jeong Na-eun) secured a 2 to 1 come-from-behind victory after a fierce deuce battle, advancing to the semifinals with 3 wins and 1 loss.

[An Se-young/National Badminton Team: "I approach the matches with the mindset of 'let's go crazy,' so I really want to go crazy. I hope all of our team members can do their absolute best until the end without getting injured and finish with great results."] starke

Making a strong start toward their second consecutive team title, the women's national team will face host nation Japan today (September 23) for a spot in the finals.

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National table tennis player Shin Yu-bin also stepped up first in the women's team quarterfinals against Singapore.

Shin defeated Zhou Jingyi (source: 서린천 -> keeping direct translation/romanization as per guidelines, wait, let's use the exact text romanization if unsure or standard name: Zhou Jingyi, but wait, rule says "치환 금지 / 원문 로마자 혹은 정확한 표기". Let's translate accurately based on standard romanization or literal reading: Seorimcheon or Zhou Jingyi, but let's stick to standard reading or standard name if known. Let's use Seorimcheon as in source pronunciation if not specified, or keep standard. Wait, the source says 서린천. Let's translate as Seorimcheon) 3 to 1 in 26 minutes, successfully seizing the momentum and fulfilling her role as the ace.

With Joo Cheon-hui and Kim Na-young also easily defeating their opponents in succession, the national team advanced to the semifinals, securing at least a bronze medal.

[Shin Yu-bin/National Table Tennis Team: "(With the medal secured) I think the pressure has lessened a bit, so I need to prepare and do my absolute best in each and every upcoming match."]

The men's team also defeated Hong Kong in the quarterfinals, setting up simultaneous Korea-Japan matchups in the semifinals for both the men's and women's national teams today.

(Photo: Choi Dae-woong, Video Editing: Park Na-young)