Source:REUTERS/Ann Wang
[Saba Sports News] After winning the women’s singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, South Korean prodigy An Se-young criticized the Korea Badminton Association for disregarding her physical health and forcing her to compete, leading to the worsening of her knee injury due to misdiagnosis. Due to further escalation of the conflict, An Se-young expressed her decision to withdraw from the Korea Open and Japan Open held in August through her affiliated Samsung Life team, and stated that she might withdraw from the national team and even participate in international tournaments as a free agent. In response, the Korea Badminton Association quickly responded, stating that the proposal for An Se-young to compete as a free agent is absolutely impossible. The Korea Badminton Association expressed in an official statement that while understanding An Se-young’s personal emotions and demands, this proposal does not comply with the regulations and practices of international sports organizations. It is known that the status of a free agent usually applies to athletes without a fixed national team affiliation or those who have not been selected for the national team. An Se-young, as a current member of the South Korean national team, has had her eligibility and status confirmed. Furthermore, according to the rules of the Korea Badminton Association, any South Korean badminton player who wins a medal at the Olympics or Asian Games can only compete as a free agent when they reach the age of 31 for male players and 29 for female players. An Se-young is currently only 22 years old, which clearly does not meet the requirements.