(Asiad) Badminton star An Se-young goes for historic 2nd straight women's singles title

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- An Se-young, the reigning badminton star from South Korea, aims to secure her second consecutive women's singles title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The world No. 1 will face off against her longstanding rival, Akane Yamaguchi, in the women's singles final at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Tuesday.

An's journey to this historic moment has been nothing short of impressive, as she has maintained an unbroken winning streak of eight matches against Yamaguchi. Moreover, the South Korean athlete triumphed over her Japanese counterpart during the team competition earlier this week. A successful victory on Tuesday would make An Se-young the first back-to-back women's singles champion in Asian Games badminton history, a record that dates back to 1962.

In addition to her pursuit of back-to-back golds, South Korea's women's doubles team, composed of Lee So-hee and Baek Hana, will be competing for gold against Lin Shengshu and Tan Ning of China. The duo previously secured silver at the 2023 Asian Games, but they are determined to become the first South Korean pair to claim the top spot in women's doubles since 2002.

Meanwhile, weightlifter Park Hye-jeong will attempt to defend her gold medal in the women's +86-kilogram category. If South Korea's female weightlifters are to achieve back-to-back victories, Park must overcome Li Wenwen, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was unable to participate in the 2023 Asian Games due to injury. Ouisal Ikhlef of Qatar, a rising star in the heaviest division, will also be vying for the gold.