Korea’s badminton star An Se-young is likely to make a comeback at the Sudirman Cup, an international badminton mixed team competition, after recovering from injury. It will be her first competition with the new head coach of the national team.

The Badminton Korea Association notified the organizers of the Asian Championships on March 24 that An would not be able to participate in the tournament due to injury. An felt pain in her right thigh during the semifinals of the women‘s singles at the All England Open Badminton Championships, which ended on March 17.

An, who taped the injured area and went to the final, showed her fighting spirit despite injury and won 2-1 against Wang Zhiyi of China, retaking the top spot of the championships in two years. An checked her physical condition after returning home on the 18th and was diagnosed with a partial rupture of her right thigh adductor muscle.

An official from the Badminton Korea Association said in a phone interview on the 25th, “The doctor’s opinion is that she needs to stabilize for about four weeks.” As a result, An's participation in the Asian Championships, which will take place in China from April 8, has already fallen apart. It is the only competition in which An, who won the Olympic, World Championships, Asian Games and the All England Open Badminton Championships, failed to win a gold medal.

Her bid to win the Asian Championships has been delayed by a year, but she will be able to compete in the Sudirman Cup, which will be held in China from April 27, given the timetable for recovery outlined in her medical certificate. The association said, “She has a lot of ambition, so we think she will build up her body to participate in the Sudirman Cup.”

Held every two years, the Sudirman Cup is a team competition consisting of five events, including men’s and women‘s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Korea was the runner-up in the previous tournament.

If An recovers in time for the tournament, Korea will secure a clear winning card. An is the world’s best women‘s singles player, having won gold in all four international events she has competed in this year, including the All England Open Badminton Championships.

It is also significant that this will be An’s first tournament with her new head coach. Last August, An‘s comments about the federation’s management of the national team shortly after winning gold in the Paris Olympics created quite a stir in Korea. By the end of last year, most of the coaching staff, including former head coach Kim Hak-gyun, had failed to renew their contracts.

Since then, the election of the association's new chairman was also marred by the controversy, disrupting the process of selecting a new head coach. Since this year, the national team has been participating in international competitions with coaches from works teams. The association, which announced the recruitment of new head coach and coaching staff on March 10, will receive applications by the 29th before interviewing candidates.

The recruitment process could be completed as early as next month. “We want to finalize it before the Asian Championships,” said an association official.