With her second title in two weeks, An Se Young is well on her way. It’s the beginning of the season, and the world No.1 has made it clear that there will be no dip in intensity, no easing into her best form. She is up and running.
Pornpawee Chochuwong, who had battled past Tomoka Miyazaki in the semifinals after facing three match points, never had a glimpse in the final. The Thai was shut out of the game from the start, but An, despite her domination, was hard on herself whenever she made the odd error.
“I want to be perfect. Even one mistake stresses me, that’s why I look annoyed when I make a mistake,” she said, after wrapping up her second India Open title in 40 minutes, 21-12 21-9.
“In the last match I didn’t play well as I was following the shuttle and wasn’t able to play my game. But in this match I had better experience and I could play according to my will.
“I don’t want to lose any shuttle. I don’t even realise I’m diving around. I just don’t want to miss a single shuttle.”
The result of men’s singles too was never in doubt after the early passage of play, with Viktor Axelsen firing winners at will against Lee Cheuk Yiu. The Dane needed just 41 minutes to capture his third India Open title from six finals, 21-16 21-8.
“I didn’t enjoy it until I won the last point,” said Axelsen. “I felt I had to focus on every single point and even though I was leading big, in my mind I was still trailing behind. This week has been very inconsistent from a mental perspective for me, and also game-wise. So to play a game like this with my current state is very very positive.
“I slept very bad, maybe four-five hours. I had a good (physio) treatment, we laughed a lot at breakfast and had a good time relaxing. Just tried my best to get my body ready. To be honest, to win this title is very special for me because it has been a different feeling on court, different preparation, and I’m starting to feel my motivation is back. I’ve been a competitor this week. Since the Olympics I’ve had a little bit of issues with injuries, and that has been affecting my motivation a bit, so to be here and win the title means a lot.”