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World number one An caps stunning year with Asian Games gold / Photo: © AFP
World number one An caps stunning year with Asian Games gold
Badminton world number one An Se-young beat China's Chen Yufei over three games to win Asian Games gold on Saturday and add another title to her stunning breakout year.
The South Korean won the first game 21-18 in a close fight in Hangzhou that sent both players diving to the ground to return shots.
Top-ranked An hurt her knee during the first game and was attended to by medics.
The scrape seemed to break her momentum in the second game, which Olympic champion Chen won 21-17.
The South Korean staged a remarkable comeback in the third game, crushing her opponent 21-8 despite most of the audience cheering for the Chinese player.
An emotional An embraced her coaches after her victory, with both players limping off the court.
In a remarkable 2023, the 21-year-old An has risen to number one for the first time and won a string of titles, including the world championship.
The home crowd still had plenty to celebrate as Li Shifeng beat fellow Chinese player Shi Yuqi to win the men's singles title.
Li defeated former world silver-medallist Shi 23-21, 21-13 and celebrated by ripping off his shirt and performing a backflip.
In the men's doubles final, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made history for India with their country's first badminton gold at the Asian Games ever.
They defeated South Korea's Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho 21-18, 21-16.
In the mixed doubles final, China's Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-15, 21-14 in 47 minutes. China also clinched the women's doubles crown.
D. Meier--BTZ
