South Korean badminton star dreams of becoming world number one

An Se Young of South Korea hits a return against Kirsty Gilmour (not pictured) of Scotland during their womens singles at Indonesia Open Badminton tournament in Jakarta on June 15, 2023. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

South Korea’s rising badminton star An Se-young flashes a smile when asked about her dream of becoming the women’s world number one, and the first woman from her country to achieve the feat in decades.

The world number two was dealt a blow at the Indonesia Open this weekend, suffering an injury in her quarter-final win before crashing out in the semi-final.

But the 21-year-old has been on a hot streak.

An reached all eight individual tournament finals this year before the Indonesia Open, winning five of them and leaving her achingly close to overtaking world number one Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.

“It is a dream that you’d dream if you were an athlete,” she told AFP before her defeat.

“I am just proud of myself for stepping closer to that dream.”

It remains within reach, despite her defeat in Jakarta to China’s Chen Yu Fei in the quarter-finals.

“Of course I’m sad, but I don’t dwell on it too much. Instead, it made me think, ‘Oh, I need to be better,'” she said of her Indonesia Open exit.

Born in 2002, An took up badminton in her first year of elementary school, following her parents who played the sport as a hobby.

She is not the only athlete in her family either — her father used to be a boxer for South Korea.

Often described as a “genius girl” by local media, An was only 15 when she joined the South Korean national team, winning all seven matches in the 2017 selection competition.

In 2019, she was named Most Promising Player of the Year by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

At home, An is often compared to South Korean