Olympic champion An Se-young named world's top female badminton player for 2024

An Se-young of Korea hits a return during the women's singles final match against Carolina Marin of Spain at the BWF World Championships 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023. Xinhua-Yonhap

Korean Olympic champion An Se-young has been named the world's top female badminton player for the second straight year.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) honored An as the Women's Singles Player of the Year during the BWF World Tour Finals Gala Dinner on Monday in Hangzhou, China.

An captured the women's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August and collected four other titles this year. The 22-year-old was also voted by her peers as the inaugural winner of the Players' Player of the Year award.

"I didn't expect I'd receive so much support from other players. I'm delighted to get this award," An was quoted as saying on the BWF's website. "I'm so happy. I have so many people standing by me, supporting me, and they are my biggest motivation."

An struggled early in 2024 due to lingering effects of a knee injury suffered while winning the singles title at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Even at less than 100 percent, though, An soared to her first career Olympic gold in Paris, giving South Korea its first singles gold medal in 28 years.

Immediately after winning the big prize, An criticized the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) for its poor handling of her knee injury and called for an overhaul of the national team system. Her words set off a chain of events, including a monthslong government probe into the BKA and the association's decision not to renew its contract with the national team head coach Kim Hak-kyun. (Yonhap)