with Paris title
\n PARIS
\nBadminton world number one An Se-young fired an Olympic warning after winning the French Open title in the Paris arena that will stage matches this summer.
\nThe South Korean won her 21st BWF World Tour crown and second of the year with an 18-21, 21-13, 21-10 defeat of Japanese rival Akane Yamaguchi on Sunday in the French capital. The 22-year-old An, who will be favourite to win a first Olympic gold in four months\u2019 time, said: \u201cThis is an important event before the Olympics and I felt a lot of pressure at first.
\n\u201cWinning in the Olympic arena means a lot and I feel very happy. \u201cI guess when I come back here for the Olympics I will be in a positive frame of mind.\u201d
\nThe tournament at Porte de la Chapelle Arena was also treated as a test event for Paris Olympic organisers.
\nAn has risen to the top of women\u2019s badminton after a breakthrough 2023, but she has struggled in recent weeks with a knee injury.
\nFormer world number one Yamaguchi, who has also been held back by recent injury, was contesting her first World Tour final since September.
\nThe 26-year-old said that she ran out of steam in the 64-minute title decider.
\n\u201cI slowed down in the third,\u201d said the Japanese player, ranked four in the world.
\n\u201cRight now my condition is much better (than two months ago) and I was able to make the final, but I feel there\u2019s some more way to go.\u201d
\nChina\u2019s Shi Yuqi, number two in the world, won the men\u2019s French Open title with a 22-20, 21-19 victory over Thailand\u2019s Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
\nThe All England Open, one of the most prestigious tournaments in badminton, begins on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
with Paris title PARIS Badminton world number one An Se-young fired an Olympic warning after winning the French Open title in the Paris arena that will stage matches this summer. The South Korean won her 21st BWF World Tour crown and second of the year with an 18-21, 21-13, 21-10 defeat of Japanese rival Akane […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n