Top seed An Se Young crashed to her earliest defeat in several months as she fell to local hope Wang Zhi Yi in the second round of the LI-NING China Masters 2023.

Discounting her group stage loss at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 last December, An Se Young’s last defeat at such an early stage was her second round exit at the Malaysia Open 2022 last July. Since then she has made 16 finals and three semifinals in 20 events overall.

The Korean’s campaign in Shenzhen came to a tame end. Wang dominated the opening game, and although An pulled level at 14-all from a deficit in the second, the Chinese shot past her to take the match comfortably: 21-12 21-16 in 47 minutes.

Wang, who had a 1-7 record against An coming into the match – her sole win was in April 2022 – said the home crowd support had seen her through.

“I really enjoy playing in China, the atmosphere is great and the crowd was always cheering me on, which gave me a lot of motivation to win point by point,” said the world No.12.
“This is a small achievement for me and I’ve been eager to make a breakthrough on the court to defeat some of the top players. Compared to the past few matches with her, I think I played with more determination and patience today. Because she is a very strong opponent, a very good defensive player, she’s not easy to beat, so I think I did a good job of being patient today.”

An, who has been coming back from a knee injury suffered during the Asian Games in October, refused to give any excuses.

“Wang played very well and I did my best, although I feel a bit disappointed that I lost the match,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who’d won the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023 on Sunday, also fell early, to Nozomi Okuhara 21-12 15-21 21-16. It was Okuhara’s first quarterfinal after first or second round defeats in her last six events.

“Every match is challenging, and I can only face it head-on. Today’s match also progressed with difficulty. I try not to dwell on the eventual outcome, focusing only on the present and continuously embracing challenges. In the end, I gave my all and emerged victorious, marking a significant overcoming of obstacles today.

“I haven’t reached the top level yet, but I am gradually closing in,” said Okuhara. “It requires facing challenges in each match. I aspire to give my all in competition, striving to deliver performances at the top level and working hard to become a top player. I will persist in challenging myself.

“There are reasons why my physical stamina may not keep up, but I will keep trying without thinking of the final results, and will concentrate on the present moment.”

Results