An Se Young made her ninth final this year, tying the feats of Tai Tzu Ying (2018) and Li Xue Rui (2012) as she moved to within one win of her sixth title this season at the Korea Open 2023.

The Korean scored a morale-boosting win over frequent nemesis Chen Yu Fei, who’d beaten her in their last two matches, including the high-pressure final of the Sudirman Cup in May.

Today saw another tense contest, with Chen nearly pulling off a sensational comeback win from 12-19 down in the third. The Chinese tied the score at the death from four match points down, but An was eventually able to convert her seventh match point to stay in contention to defend her title.

An takes on Tai, who had a relatively smoother time against Akane Yamaguchi, 21-17 21-19.

In men’s singles, Anders Antonsen continued to impress in his comeback from injury. The Dane scored his first win in a completed match against Shi Yu Qi after three losses, and takes on Loh Kean Yew for the first time in over a year.

“Super happy,” said Antonsen. “What a game. Very different game in men’s singles, both of us standing on the doubles line, serving at the end. It was intense. It’s my first time beating him. One time he got injured, but it’s my first time beating him, so super happy.

“I was under pressure in the second game especially and managed to make a comeback. My first final in Korea, I’m so relieved, I’ve been working so hard to get back to the highest level.”

Indians on Fire

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty made their second straight final after winning the Indonesia Open, scoring their first win over Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang in three matches. The Indians held their nerve in a tight second game to prevail 21-15 24-22.

“We didn’t give them a chance to attack, and we were the first ones to keep the shuttle and we weren’t giving them a chance to play it in between. The shuttles are quite fast, so whoever dominates the front and mid court was winning the points.” – Chirag Shetty

Highlights

Mixed doubles will be an all-China affair with Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin taking on Feng Yang Zhe/Huang Dong Ping. The Chinese held off more experienced rivals Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino and Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai respectively.

Women’s doubles will see top seeds Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan against Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong. While Chen/Jia enjoyed a quick win over compatriots Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu, Kim/Kong had a harder battle on their hands, against Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara.

→ Results (Semifinals)

→ Order of Play (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“I was moving slow in the beginning as I was anxious. It was close at the end; Chen Yu Fei is very calm, you need to be as calm as her.” – An Se Young

“I did make mistakes in control. I don’t know why, but Akane wasn’t fast as usual, so I could catch her and she was under pressure.” – Tai Tzu Ying

“I made some changes during the match, I can’t recall what I did because the adrenaline is still high. I just tried to take initiative in the beginning. It was about consistency and getting the right rhythm instead of just being fast, I’m still trying to work on it.” – Loh Kean Yew