(Asiad) Badminton star An Se-young goes for historic 2nd straight women's singles title

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- Badminton star An Se-young has made a career out of making history and will try to make more Tuesday, when she plays in the women's singles final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in central Japan.

An, world No. 1, will battle her longtime rival from Japan, Akane Yamaguchi, for the women's singles gold medal at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, just northwest of the main host city, Nagoya.

An has cruised through her competition so far, winning all of her matches without dropping a game. An has an eight-match winning streak against Yamaguchi and also beat the Japanese veteran in the singles during the team competition here last week.

With another win Tuesday, An will become the first back-to-back women's singles champion in Asian Games badminton history, dating back to 1962.

South Korea will also compete for gold in the women's doubles, where Lee So-hee and Baek Hana will play Lin Shengshu and Tan Ning of China.

Lee and Baek won silver at the 2023 Asian Games. They are trying to become the first South Korean duo to win gold in the women's doubles since 2002.

Also on Tuesday, weightlifter Park Hye-jeong will try to defend her gold medal in the women's +86-kilogram event.

No South Korean female weightlifter has won consecutive Asian Games gold medals.

Park will be up against Li Wenwen, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who missed the 2023 Asian Games due to an injury, and Ouisal Ikhlef of Qatar, a rising star in the women's heaviest division.

The women's football team will take on the host nation Japan in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, about 100 kilometers east of Nagoya. The Taegeuk Ladies have never won an Asiad gold, with only three bronze medals to date

In Nagoya, the men's handball team will face Japan in the bronze medal match, with South Korea looking to return to the podium after finishing in fifth place three years ago.