After winning the women’s singles badminton event at the Paris Olympics and breaking a 28-year hiatus, Ahn Se Young publicly expressed her profound sentiments towards the association. Following the win, her KakaoTalk profile picture was also deleted.
Attorney Son Soo Ho shared a photo on his Instagram on the 5th with a message: “Even the world’s strongest athletes encounter numerous challenges. Your support can help us drive improvement and initiate changes.”
The revealed photo contains the KakaoTalk profile of Ahn, the gold medalist in women’s badminton at the Paris Olympics. The profile does not feature any photo.
On the same day, Ahn clinched the gold medal in the women’s singles badminton final at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, defeating He Bingjiao of China. This victory marks South Korea’s first gold medal in women’s singles badminton since Bang Soo Hyun’s triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Games, ending a 28-year drought.
After the awards ceremony, during an interview, Ahn surprised everyone with a resolute statement: “My knee injury wasn’t something that could easily heal, and I was disappointed by the badminton association’s casual attitude. I wonder if continuing with the national team will be difficult now.”
The South Korea Badminton Association has not issued an official statement. However, a representative mentioned through various media outlets, “We provided medical support, including assigning a traditional Korean medicine doctor to Ahn, but she feels it was inadequate.” National team coach Kim Hak Kyun also clarified, “This is an issue between the athlete and the association; there are no problems within the coaching staff.”
Afterward, Ahn took to social media, expressing, “I wanted to talk about the importance of protecting athletes rather than power and emphasize communication rather than superiority. Unfortunately, my message has been sensationalized in the media.” She also pleaded, “Please refrain from framing my situation as retirement.” Ahn has turned off her mobile phone and blocked external communications.