[Anchor]

World badminton powerhouse An Se-young has claimed the top spot once again at the Denmark Open. Overcoming an ankle injury to secure a thrilling comeback victory, she captured her 9th title of the season.

Reporter Lee Seonghun has the details.

[Reporter]

An Se-young faced a fierce struggle against world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi, whom she met again 19 days after the final of the Nagoya Asian Games.

Seemingly gritting her teeth for revenge and displaying the best form of the season, Yamaguchi took the first game after deuce. Although An leveled the match by winning the second game 21-14, she slipped while defending early in the third game and injured her ankle. Her pace dropped sharply as she fell behind 11-5, bringing her to the brink of defeat.

In crisis, the resilience of the undisputed number one came alive.

Capitalizing on unforced errors from a fatigued Yamaguchi, An began her chase. Trailing 12-11 by just a single point, she won the longest and most breathtaking rally of the match yesterday (Oct. 18)—consisting of a staggering 38 shots—to finally tie the game.

Seizing control as Yamaguchi's momentum waned due to four consecutive unforced errors, An summoned her last burst of energy at 19-17 to shake off Yamaguchi's stubborn defense and secure match point.

With Yamaguchi's final hairpin shot sailing wide, An wrapped up the 1-hour and 17-minute grueling battle with a thrilling comeback, savoring her victory with her signature roar.

Recording a remarkable winning percentage of 98.4 percent with 61 wins and 1 loss this season, backed by a recent 44-match winning streak, An achieved her second consecutive Denmark Open title and her 9th victory of the season.

An will head straight to Paris to eye her 10th win of the season at the French Open this week.

(Video Editing: Park Jeong-sam)