Top-ranked shuttler comfortable playing from behind

In her women's singles semifinal match of the Paris Olympics on Sunday, An Se-young, the world's top-ranked female badminton player, dropped the opening game against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia.

In other words, An had Tunjung right where she wanted.

An went on to defeat Tunjung 2-1 (11-21, 21-13, 21-16) and advanced to the final scheduled for Monday. After struggling to find her rhythm in the first frame, An was a completely different player in the next two games, making shots that few others can make. An appeared to pick up energy as the match progressed, while Tunjung began having difficulty getting to some of An's well-placed shots in the late stages.

This was the second consecutive match in which An mounted a comeback after losing the first game. In the quarterfinals, An lost the opening game to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-15 before taking the next two by 21-17 and 21-8.

"In the past, I often tried to do too much too fast. But as I've gained more experience, I've grown more comfortable playing from behind," An said after Sunday's win at La Chapelle Arena in Paris. "I keep telling myself, 'I can do this. Take it one point at a time and I will grab a lead.'"

An said she battled jitters in the early moments of the match and it took her a while to get settled down.

"I was more nervous than I thought I would be," An said. "But I never gave up and I trusted myself."

By reaching the final, An has secured South Korea's first medal in the women's singles since Bang Soo-hyun's gold medal in 1996.

An will face He Bingjiao of China, who earned a win over Carolina Marin of Spain in the semifinals after the latter retired during the second game with a knee injury.

Chen Yufei of China, world No. 2, was expected to reach the final from the opposite side of the bracket from An, but He upset Chen in the quarterfinals.

A final between An and Chen would have been a rematch of the scintillating gold medal contest from the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where An prevailed despite injuring her knee during the first game.

An has gone 8-12 against Chen, but 8-5 against He. The South Korean star insisted, however, there is no such thing as an easy opponent in the Olympics.

"Just because Chen Yufei has been eliminated, it doesn't mean the gold medal will just be handed to me," An said. "I will just have to focus on my own game. Whoever makes it to the final will not be an easy opponent. I regard every player here as my rival."

Chen knocked An out of the quarterfinals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, well before An became the formidable force that she is today.

"I did want to go up against her. It would have been nice," An said with a smile. "But regardless, I am here to win the gold medal."