The opportunities are now wide open for An Se Young of Korea and He Bing Jiao of China to achieve their lifelong dream of becoming an Olympic champion.
Both take on each other in the final of the women’s singles 2024 Olympic Games final match at Arena de la Chapelle tomorrow.
An, the world No.1 will attempt to end Korea’s long wait for the title since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
He Bing Jiao, on the other hand, had luck on her side as she struggled to get the better of Spaniard Carolina Marin in the other semifinals.
Bing Jiao earned a “lifeline” in her Olympic journey in Paris after the Spaniard had suffered serious injury on her knees, forcing her to retire while leading 10-6 in the second game. It was a dramatic and heart breaking ending for Marin, the 2016 Olympic champion who was playing well and well on track to the finals when her knees gave way.
An had defeated Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 to secure her first Olympics final spot and will attempt to deliver Korea’s women’s singles first gold medal Bang Soo-hyun’s gold in 1996.
Marin was at the top of her game and He Bing Jiao clearly struggled against the Spaniard women, tamely losing the first game 14-21 and was trailing 6-10 when Marin’s tragedy struck in the second game.
