"It's a very happy day. It's been a tiring year, and it's been a perfect ending for this year. It couldn't have been better.

I'm still young, and I hope I can continue to achieve more." Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance), who won the honor of the 2023 BWF World Tour Final Gala Dinner at the Hangzhou Dragon Hotel Crystal Hall in China on the evening of the 11th (local time), expressed her acceptance speech, BWF said on its website.

Ahn Se-young, the world No. 1 in women's singles, beat two competitors, Chen Yufei of China (25) and Akane Yamaguchi (26) of Japan (26). The 2023 BWF Player of the Year candidates in each category were selected based on the results of the competition, which was held from November 1 last year to October 31 this year.

According to BWF, An was almost invincible, winning five consecutive women's singles titles, including the 2023 BWF World Championship (World Championship) in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in October. She has won a total of 11 titles, but has won nine BWF World Tour titles. Ahn ranked No. 1 in women's singles for the first time in 27 years as a Korean athlete in 1996.

Seo Seung-jae (26, Samsung Life Insurance), who was named the BWF's "Man of the Year," said, "I'm very honored to receive this award. It's not because I did it alone, but because of the contributions of my partners. I've never done well on a big stage before losing before the semifinals or finals. I thank my fans who stayed by my side, and I'll continue to do my best."

Seo Seung-jae tasted the joy of winning the prize, beating world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and No. 6 Kunrabut Bittid Sarn of Thailand. It is the first time in Korean badminton history that a Korean player has been named the BWF Women's Player of the Year and the Men's Player of the Year at the same time.

At the Copenhagen World Championships, Seo won a gold medal in men's doubles with Kang Min-hyuk (24, Samsung Life Insurance) and mixed doubles with Chae Yoo-jeong (28, Incheon International Airport), respectively, achieving a two-time gold medal. Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung, who won this year's mixed doubles world championship, were also candidates, but they fell behind them.

Chinese mixed doubles team Zhang Bang-Weiyasin (6th in the world) was selected as the "Most Improved Player of the Year", and Chinese women's doubles team Liu Shengshi-Tanning (10th in the world) was selected as the "Promising Player of the Year". 토토사이트먹튀