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Direct-speaking and driven An wants flawless 2025
The Straits Times
|May 28, 2025
On the badminton court, South Korean star An Se-young is a fiery figure with her trademark headband, battle cry and fist pumps.
Despite sporting a softer look at an interview with The Straits Times on May 27, her killer instinct and winner's mentality remain.
After winning four straight titles on the Badminton World Federation World Tour in 2025, the 23-year-old declared that she wants to stay unbeaten the entire season as the two-time winner defends her title at the US$1 million (S$1.29 million) KFF Singapore Open.
An, the women's singles world No. 1 and reigning Olympic and world champion, said: "The prospect of staying unbeaten definitely motivates me. All I can do is to train more, work harder and prepare more. My mindset is always to try my best to be perfect."
Competing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 27, she overcame the tricky draught to turn a 6-11 first-game deficit into a 21-16, 21-14 over China's 14th-ranked Gao Fangjie to take her winning streak to 26 matches.
She will meet Yeo Jia Min in the last 16 on May 29, after the Singaporean beat Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-14, 21-13.
This story is from the May 28, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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