Women's badminton has a new legend. Who is Korea's An Se-young?

From starting badminton as a young child to making the national team at 15 years old and then winning every major international title in the span of one year, who is An Se-young?

An Se-young celebrates after winning the gold medal match of the women's singles badminton contest at the Paris Olympics in Paris on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Badminton player An Se-young triumphed over China’s He Bingjiao to win a gold medal in the women's singles contest at the Paris Olympics Monday, winning the highest honor in her career and marking yet another success on the international stage.

An’s first Olympic medal comes in her second Games — and initiates her into an exclusive club of athletes with medals from every major international tournament at the age of 22.

Since entering her first international competition at 13, An has seen a long streak of success at nearly every tournament, following in the footsteps of fellow Korean legend Bang Soo-hyun, the last women's singles Olympic medalist in 1996.

Korean badminton player An Se-young poses with her Olympic gold medal after winning the women's singles final at the Paris Olympics at La Chapelle Arena in Paris on Monday. [YONHAP]

From starting badminton as a young child to topping the podium at every major competition in the world, what career has An had and how successful has she been?

Talent from a young age An started badminton when she was a first grader thanks to her father who had played the sport as a hobby.

She played the sport all throughout grade school and was considered a top prospect even during her elementary years.

As a junior player, she won a gold medal in the mixed team event at the 2017 Badminton Asia Junior Championships and bronze in the same discipline at the 2017 BWF World Junior Championships.

Her talent allowed her rise to bigger prominence in middle school, participating in the national squad selection contest in December 2017 at the age of 15 as the youngest player at the time.

But age was just a number, as she beat all seven opponents during the contest to secure a place in the senior national team as the first middle school student to join the squad.

A tight schedule as a Team Korea member still required her to go through intense training that involved running miles and weight exercises every day, while giving up time with family and friends.

But that harsh time paid off later on the senior international stage, where she established herself as one of the best athletes in Korean sports history.

Early days of senior international career An did not immediately see success on the senior stage, failing to medal at her first senior international tournament, the Osaka International Challenge in April 2018, and losing to China's Chen Yufei — whom An faced multiple times in following international tournaments — in the round of 32 singles at the Asian Games in August that year.

An Se-young competes in the women’s singles round of 32 match against Chen Yufei of China at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug. 23, 2018. [YONHAP]

She then won her first senior international title at the 2018 Irish Open, which kicked off a streak of victories.

At the 2019 New Zealand Open, she beat 2012 Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui of China in the final and went on to win more titles like the Canada Open, French Open and Korea Masters later in 2019, earning the 2019 Most Promising Player of the Year.

More titles An was not able to compete in as many competitions in 2020 due to Covid-19 but still won a silver medal in the team event at the Asian Women’s Team Championship.

The Tokyo Olympics in 2021 served as a test of whether she could carry her performance in past tournaments to the biggest stage yet, but her quest failed after losing in the quarterfinals — to Chen, again.

But An saw a turnaround in following tournaments in 2022, winning the Korea Open, Malaysia Masters and Australian Open — all events on the BWF World Tour — in addition to taking two bronze medals in the women’s singles at the Asian Championships and World Championships.

Those tournaments served as a tune-up ahead of 2023, when she made history by becoming the first Korean to win the women’s singles event in the 2023 BWF World Championships.

An Se-young celebrates on the podium with the trophy after winning against He Bingjiao of China during the women's singles final match at the Thailand Open 2023 at the Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok, Thailand ON June 4, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

Not just the unprecedented title, but she won multiple titles on the BWF World Tour, claiming the women’s singles No. 1 ranking on Aug. 1, 2023 ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.

An Se-young celebrates after winning the women's singles final against Chen Yufei of China at the Hangzhou Asian Games at Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 7, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

On the back of a stellar run, she went into action at the Asiad and beat her rival Chen in the women’s singles final, becoming the first Korean to win a gold in the discipline at the Asiad since Bang Soo-hyun in 1994.

Road to legend

Monday’s Olympic medal makes An’s medal cabinet nearly as rich as the one with badminton legend Bang, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and the first Korean to win gold in the women’s singles at the Olympics.

Two more Olympic medals will allow An to surpass Bang, who won one gold and one silver at the Games and two medals apiece from the Asian Games and world championships.

An had already won two medals each from the Asiad and world championships, just like the legend, with years left in her career.

Bang herself also acknowledged An’s potential after she won the Asian Games gold medal in 2023 and said the following: “I hope An surpasses me, which will be good for the development of badminton.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]