22-year-old An Se-young wins historic gold, beating He Bingjiao 2-0

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22-year-old An Se-young wins historic gold, beating He Bingjiao 2-0

Published: 05 Aug. 2024, 18:47 Updated: 05 Aug. 2024, 19:41

Korea's An Se-young competes in the gold medal women's singles badminton match at the Paris Olympics Monday in Paris. [YONHAP]

PARIS — An Se-young soared to gold in the women’s singles badminton final at the Paris Olympics Monday, beating China’s He Bingjiao 2-0 to win the country’s first gold medal in the event since Bang Soo-hyun in 1996.

An, 22, cements her spot among the best badminton players in the world, having won a title at every major international competition — the Olympics the final box to check.

She cruised to an advantage in front of a sold-out crowd at La Chapelle Arena in Paris, winning the first game 21-13. And she quickly grabbed the lead in the second set, with He trailing by four points at the 11-point mark.

China's He Bingjiao plays against Korea's An Se-young during their women's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday in Paris. [AP/YONHAP]

He closed in on An’s advantage after the break, winning four rallies in a row to tie things up at 11-11, but An undid her opponent's work with four straight points of her own.

And An stretched her lead even further, leading by six at the first gold medal point. He held on to put the board at 20-15 and then 20-16, but An grabbed the victory.

The gold-medal match was also broadcast on a big screen at Korea House down the road in Paris, with those unlucky enough to grab a ticket braving the heat to watch the final.

An had guaranteed a spot on the podium after winning her semifinal match 2-1, the same way she won her quarterfinal — in a comeback.

BY MARY YANG AND JIM BULLEY [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]