Badminton association denies accusations made by Olympian An Se-young

The Badminton Korea Association denied Wednesday that it did not take a recent injury to An Se-young seriously, refuting the Olympic gold medalist's claims two days after she called out officials moments after she earned the top spot on the podium

Korean badminton player An Se-young talks to reporters at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The Badminton Korea Association (BKA) denied Wednesday that it did not take a recent injury to An Se-young seriously, refuting the Olympic gold medalist's claims two days after she called out officials in comments made moments after she earned the top spot on the podium in Paris.

An was injured at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year, where she also won a gold medal. She said on Monday in Paris that the injury was worse than initially thought and she was disappointed that the national team "did not consider it a big deal at all."

BKA refuted that claim on Wednesday.

“An underwent rehabilitation training at her team at her will," the association said in a statement. "With a strong desire to return to the court, she competed at the Japan Masters and China Masters, which were her first international tournaments after her return.”

The association added that it provided An with a personal trainer in February to help her recover from the injury, in addition to spending over 11 million won ($8,000) to send a doctor of traditional Korean medicine to treat her when she sustained an injury upon arriving in Paris.

An on Monday also criticized the association's monopoly on Korean badminton, saying that it was unfair that athletes are not allowed to compete at the Olympics unless they do so through the BKA.

The association refuted that claim Wednesday, saying that athletes can compete in international tournaments after leaving BKA, provided that they have played for the association for at least five years. Female players also have to be 27 years or older and male players 28 or older.

An is only 22 years old.

The association said that scrapping the rule would lead to an exodus of players from the association.

An returned to Korea Wednesday, but declined to comment on the ongoing furor.

The association said in Wednesday’s statement that it will soon speak with An, analyze the problems raised by her and take as much action as possible in order to protect the player.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]