“I will state my case firmly”
The cracks were detected during a return interview after the Jeon Young Open in March. Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who had a thin smile on her face, suddenly changed her tone. The reason was injury.
Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who won the gold medal in the women’s singles badminton event at the Paris Olympics on Friday (June 5), 28 years after the 1996 Atlanta Games, made an explosive statement on the day she realized her goal. She expressed her emotions after winning the gold medal she had hoped for, but immediately criticized the Korea Badminton Association’s injury management stance and team selection system.
“My injury was more serious than I thought, and the national team was too complacent about it,” Ahn said. I was a little disappointed,” she said. “I think it will be a little hard for me to continue with the national team after this moment,” she said. When asked if his comments hinted at retirement, he briefly confirmed, “I’ll have to talk about it, but I’m very disappointed. I hope I can explain it in more detail later.”
Not being with the national team also meant that we might not see Ahn on the Olympic stage, as she has only just become a true empress. “I want to keep going for the development of badminton and my record, but I don’t know what the KBA will do. As long as I can play badminton, I think I can endure any situation,” she said. She also said that it would be unfair to leave the national team and miss the Olympics.
In the end, Ahn was hurt by the way the federation handled her injury. She also complained that even if the worst thing that could happen to her was to be disqualified, it shouldn’t be the case. “They block everything, and they do it in the name of freedom,” she said, pointing out that she was the only one to win a gold medal at the Games. This suggests that the current selection system is problematic.
The conflict seems to have started when Ahn was rehabilitating from a knee injury sustained at the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) in October last year. She returned 안전놀이터 to action just a month and a half later, competing in the Kumamoto Masters in Japan and then the BWF Finals. She picked up her first win of the season at the Malaysia Open in early January, but withdrew from her India Open quarterfinal match the following week with a right thigh injury. After another six weeks of rehabilitation, she won the French Open, defeating Akane Yamaguchi (JPN), but lost to Yamaguchi in the semifinals of the All-England Open the following week.
On March 19, Ahn spoke to reporters at Incheon International Airport. At the time, she said, “I was worried and nervous. I’m happy that I performed better than I expected under those conditions,” she said, and smiled, “I think it means a lot that I played even when I was in the worst physical condition.”
Ahn’s expression changed slightly when asked a question. A reporter asked her, “Do you plan to compete less after the Asian Championships in April, which will count towards your seeding points for the Paris Olympics, to take care of your body?”
Ahn, who had previously emphasized the importance of seeding, replied, “As long as I can maintain my No. 1 ranking, I will refrain from competing. I don’t know what the coach will decide, but I’ll make my case firmly…” she trailed off. When she says “insist,” she means that she wants to avoid competing in tournaments that can be physically demanding.
Ahn also competed in the World Women’s Team Championships (Uber Cup) in early May, but withdrew from the semifinals due to illness and enteritis. She then competed in the Singapore Open in late May and the Indonesia Open the following week before heading to the Paris Olympics.
It’s true that Ahn’s participation in tournaments has decreased since the Korea Open. However, one could argue that she didn”t need to play two tournaments (Singapore and Indonesia Open) right before the Olympics. It is clear that Ahn had a disagreement with her federation or coaching staff about her fitness at that point. Ahn’s statement that she would “firmly state my case” if she were to play more tournaments could be interpreted to mean that she would have to do so in order to get her way.