An Se-young's projected path to gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024

An Se-young will be entering the Olympics as the reigning world champion and top seed.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) conducted the draw for the badminton events at the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 12 in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 39 female shuttlers participated in the women’s singles draw, which divided them into 16 groups from A to P.

Reigning world champion An Se-young, the top seed, has a relatively easy group, but the knockout rounds will require her best performance. Let’s find out about the road to the gold medal match for An Se-young:

Group Stage: Kaloyana Nalbantova, Qi Xuefei

An Se-young [1] is placed in Group A along with France’s Qi Xuefei (WR53) and Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova (WR 76). All the lower-ranked opponents will have an uphill battle against the reigning world champion.

Round of 16: Bye

If An Se-young tops Group A, she will receive a bye in the Round of 16.

Quarter-Finals: Akane Yamaguchi or Supanida Kathethong

In the quarter-finals, An Se-young would potentially go up against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi [5] or Thailand’s Supanida Kathethong [11]. Yamaguchi has Michelle Li as a challenge in her group, whereas Supanida finds Lo Sin Yan in her group before they go up against each other to face the Korean shuttler.

Semi-Finals: Tai Tzu-ying or Gregoria Mariska Tunjung

Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu-ying [3] or Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung [7] could be potential opponents for Se-young in the semis. Ratchanok Intanon might also be a potential candidate to reach the semi-finals.

ALSO READ: Full list of badminton players who have been flag-bearers at Summer Olympics

Final: Chen Yu Fei or Carolina Marin

Se-young will face the winner of the lower half of the draw in the gold medal match. The lower half includes China’s Chen Yu Fei, who is ranked second in the world and will be up for the challenge. The World No. 2 has won two world tour titles in 2024 and has been runner-up in three.

Rio Olympics champion Carolina Marin has produced some top results on the world tour and ranks fourth in the world. It will be interesting to witness a rematch of the World Championships 2023 final in Paris in 2024. An Se-young would look forward to repeating the results from last year’s World Championships and will be eyeing her first Olympic medal.

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