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An Se-young named Badminton World Federation female player of the year

Published: 10 Dec. 2024, 15:26 Updated: 10 Dec. 2024, 18:02

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Korean badminton player An Se-young, left, poses for a photo with Badminton World Federation (BWF) President Poul-Erik Hoyer at the annual awards ceremony during the BWF World Tour welcome banquet in Hangzhou, China on Monday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Olympic gold medalist An Se-young was named the Badminton World Federation female player of the year for the second year running on Monday.

An, 22, received the women’s singles player of the year honor at the BWF World Tour Finals Gala Dinner in Hangzhou, China, capping off a year that saw her win an Olympic gold medal from Paris, four international titles — the Malaysia Open, French Open, Singapore Open and China Masters — and use her success as a platform to loudly call out a range of issues with Badminton Korea.

"I didn't expect I'd receive so much support from other players," An was quoted as saying on the BWF website. " I'm delighted to get this award. I'm so happy. I have so many people standing by me, supporting me, and they are my biggest motivation."

The Korean badminton star has won a gold medal from every major international competition, topping the podium in the singles events at the World Championships in 2023, Hangzhou Asian Games also in 2023 and Paris Olympics this summer.

Korea's An Se-young competes in the badminton women's singles final at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Paris on Aug. 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Since entering her first international competition at 13, An has seen a long streak of success at nearly every tournament, following in the footsteps of fellow Korean legend Bang Soo-hyun, the last women's singles Olympic medalist in 1996.

She became the first Korean to win a gold in the singles events at the Hangzhou Asian Games since Bang in 1994 and also the first to secure Olmypic gold in the discipline since Bang in 1996.

An has continued to compete on the international stage since the end of the Olympics, finishing as a runner-up at the Denmark Open in October and adding a title at the China Masters in November.

After winning Olympic gold, she also drew headlines for her remarks aimed at the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) for its perceived irregular practices, leading the Sports Ministry to launch a probe.

The ministry announced the results of that probe in September, finding that the BKA has a rule that only allows players to compete in international tournaments after they have played for the national team for five years and have reached the required age — 28 for men and 27 for women — which hinders the number of players competing on the international stage.

The BKA was also breaking its rules as its board members took a certain amount of money for their involvement in hosting sponsors for international events in Korea, even though they are not allowed to receive any incentives, according to the ministry.

The BKA also forced players to wear Yonex shoes provided through a sponsorship deal, but eventually permitted An to wear her own shoes after she indicated that Yonex shoes give her blisters.

Before An called out the BKA, she was only allowed to use shoes or rackets designated by the association, even though the equipment has a direct impact on players' performances.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]