Defeated World No. 34 Gao Fangze 2-0 in the Round of 16
World No. 1 Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Masters Badminton Championships 2023, her first tournament since returning from injury.
Ahn defeated world No. 34 Gao Fangjie (CHINA) 2-0 (21-15 21-18) in straight games in the women's singles round of 16 at the tournament in Kumamoto, Japan on Saturday (July 16).
After an 11-5 mid-game break, she controlled the pace and closed out the first game with ease.
After taping up his injured right knee, he allayed fears of any lingering effects in game two, taking an early lead.
However, he conceded a 6-7 lead when he hit a shot out of the side line that seemed to indicate he was not in full match shape after a month-long absence. Trailing 9-11, Ahn took the return point and capitalized on her opponent's error to regain the lead.
Gao Fangjie tried to stem the tide by switching shuttlecocks after each point, but Ahn Se-young refused to allow her to tie the match.
His quarterfinal opponent is Supanida Ketetong (Thailand), ranked 15th in the world. He leads the head-to-head series 2-1. He lost in Mongolia in 2019, but then won both meetings last year.
Her rival, No. 3 Chen Yufei (CHN), also reached the quarterfinals after defeating Japan's rising star, No. 50 Miyazaki Tomoka.
No. 14 Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life Insurance), who won the women's singles title at the Korea Masters in South Korea last week, was eliminated by No. 7 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia).
No. 4 Seo Seung-jae (Samsung Life) and Chae Yoo-jung (Incheon Airport) defeated the Indonesian pair to reach the quarterfinals, while No. 7 Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life) and Jung Na-eun (Korea Airlines) were eliminated by the Malaysian pair.
Seo Seung-jae-Kang Min-hyuk (Samsung Life), ranked No. 6 in the men's doubles, are in the round of 16. 카지노사이트존
