<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-05/China-s-He-falls-short-as-An-wins-Paris-women-s-singles-badminton-gold-1vP1LvsNN6M/img/ac8901b48a824bf2865306f964ee0355/ac8901b48a824bf2865306f964ee0355.png' alt='China's He Bingjiao hits a shot during the women's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, August 5, 2024. /CFP'
Chinese badminton star He Bingjiao experienced a heart-wrenching defeat in the women’s singles final at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on Monday against the world’s number one player, An Se-young, in straight games.
An’s triumph marks South Korea’s first Olympic medal in this event since 1996. The bronze was awarded to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung after her opponent, Carolina Marin of Spain, was unable to compete due to an injury sustained in the semifinals.
Both He and An made their debut appearances in the Olympic badminton women’s singles final. Prior to this title match, the two had clashed 13 times, with He holding a record of 5 wins and 8 losses.
Their most recent encounters took place this past April at the Asia Championships, He defeated An in straight games in the quarterfinals, breaking a streak of seven consecutive losses to her South Korean opponent. But at the subsequent Indonesia Open, An emerged victorious over He to advance to the semifinals.
<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-05/China-s-He-falls-short-as-An-wins-Paris-women-s-singles-badminton-gold-1vP1LvsNN6M/img/ebf7b89e23cb4d55aeaf51efe04c201b/ebf7b89e23cb4d55aeaf51efe04c201b.jpeg' alt='South Korea's An Se-young celebrates after defeating China's He Bingjiao in the women's singles badminton gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, August 5, 2024. /CFP'
In the much-anticipated final in Paris, He started strong in the first game, engaging in a closely contested battle with An in the initial stages. As the frame progressed, An’s exceptional abilities on both offense and defense began to shine, leading to He conceding the first game 21-13.
In the second game, He fought with all her might, but struggled to break through her opponent’s solid defense, ultimately falling 21-16 and settling for the silver medal after a 2-0 defeat.
