An Se Young triumphs in YONEX All England epic to lift second women’s singles title
An Se Young prevailed in an instant classic against Wang Zhi Yi to become a two-time YONEX All England women’s singles champions with a 13-21 21-18 21-18 victory.
In one of the greatest contests the hallowed All England court has ever seen, Wang moved ahead as she stifled the world number one but the 2023 champion was not down for long, surging back to force a decider.
With neither player dropping their quality, the final stretched past 90 minutes before An emerged the victor in a jaw-dropping, never-to-be-forgotten final.
In a game between two of the most skilled players in the sport, it appeared that the player who could tire the other out quicker was going to have the advantage.
It would be a difficult task for Wang, with An so rarely looking flustered or as if she is scrabbling around to save points.
However, in the early moments of one of the most anticipated finals in recent memory, Wang held the upper hand.
The Chinese shuttler was fluid, as she pushed An to stretch to parts of the court that were often impossible to reach.
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A chink in An’s usually impenetrable armour seemed to show as she went 12-8 down, tripping as she dived to reach the shuttle.
The Korean took a second on her haunches, questioning how her body could let her down like that when her mind was so willing.
But this was not just An against herself, she was facing a formidable opponent in Wang who exuded confidence as she climbed into a six-point lead.
At 19-13 down, An began to float around the court in a way we are accustomed to, pushing Wang to do the things the Chinese player had been forcing her to do.
But the end point was not executed the same, with Wang instead taking the point and then the game to move into a commanding position.
At 6-6 in the second, the audience went quiet, not out of boredom but in sheer awe at the badminton being served up to them.
With the quality so high, it took a fortunate net cord for An to take the point, with Wang left lying on the floor in disbelief.
It was Wang’s ability to pick herself up, dust herself off and force An into more uncharacteristic errors that shone through.
Only a few points later, Wang was on the floor again but this time having stretched every sinew to tip the shuttle over the net from the tightest of angles.
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It moved her 11-9 ahead and could have broken her opponent’s spirit, but An fought back to parity instead.
After more scarcely believable badminton between the two, An levelled the match to set up a thrilling conclusion to a captivating contest.
An looked to be in the ascendancy as she opened a narrow lead but Wang showed no sign of worries to draw level time and time again.
Wang then worked herself into a two-point lead but An came roaring back, and with the game level at 18-18, both players were bent over double, looking to summon the power to win.
It was An who prevailed, stretching her win streak to four straight tournaments to lift the trophy for a second time in Birmingham.
The effort An had exerted was clear to see as she reflected on a famous win.
“I had all sorts of emotions going through my mind during the second game,” she said, “The thought that was concrete in my mind was not giving up.
“That thought motivated me to keep playing and I think that led to today’s win.
“I won’t even try to describe how hard today’s match was. The match didn’t go as I’d planned which made me extra tired.
“But I’m pleased with the outcome of the match.”
With An able to work out a game plan to beat Wang, the question returns of how she can be beaten.
And to another question, whether she has forgotten what it is like to lose, she said this:
“I think that is a good thing to lose the sense of losing games! I just didn’t want to give up, that’s it.”
While both players will need a healthy amount of rest and recovery before they could produce a similar battle again, Wang was already looking forward to it.
She said: “Every time we play each other, I learn a lot from her. Obviously today, I also learnt new things taking from the match.
“I would like to cherish every encounter between us and I look forward to playing her again.”
Photo courtesy of Badmintonphoto
