South Korean women’s singles ace An Se-Young spoke out on her dissatisfaction over the Korean national team after defeating He Bingjiao from China to clinch the Olympics gold medal.

According to Korean news agency Yonhap, An Se-Young revealed her mistreatment by the Korean national team. She had suffered from a knee injury in the Asian Games in October 2023, which was poorly managed by the national team staffs including a misdiagnosis which forced her to play through pain for weeks.

“My injury was more serious than initially thought, but the national team took it lightly and I can’t forget how disappointed I was with that.”

Furthermore, she feels that doubles players are prioritized within the team because doubles players have been more successful historically in Korea, “Singles and doubles are clearly different and we have to train in different systems, but the national team tries to steer them all in the same direction. When it comes to treatment and training, doubles players have had the priority.”

An Se-Young also accused the Badminton Korea Association of making decisions without consulting with players, "I couldn't play at tournaments in France and Denmark against my will, and no one gave me any explanation.”

"I never had a chance to ask anything once the tournaments were over. There wasn't even a meeting."

An Se-Young to retire from the national team?

She later hinted a retirement from the national team saying, “I even think it’ll be difficult for me to continue on with the national team.”

However, she still has a glimpse of hope that things will change for the better, not just for her, but for badminton in Korea, “This isn’t about me, it’s about the need for proper protection and management of players. I hope someone will consider and resolve these issues.”