Paris, France, August 5, 2024: Korea has produced several heroes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Add An Se-young to this impressive list.
The 22-year-old badminton world champion won the women’s singles final at a sold-out La Chapelle Arena on Monday, defeating China’s He Bingjiao 21-13, 21-16 in 52 minutes.
After finishing fifth on her Olympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020, An collected gold to join the Olympic roll of honour in her home country. An became just the second South Korean woman to win an Olympic singles title, joining Bang Soo-hyun from 1996.
Such was the demand for tickets from the huge Korean contingent in Paris that the gold medal match was also broadcast on a big screen at Korea House down the road, with those unlucky enough to grab a ticket braving the summer heat to watch the final.
An, the Asian Games champion in Hangzhou last year, could not hold back her emotions during the victory ceremony.
“That was amazing. I felt so happy,” she said.
"Today I was able to express my feelings that I have been keeping for seven years. The agony and frustration. I was able to express it all during the ceremony."
The previous day, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung was awarded bronze, becoming the first Indonesian athlete to win a medal at Paris 2024, after Spain’s Carolina Marin was forced to withdraw from her semi-final on Sunday with a knee injury.