Top-ranked shuttler An Se-young cruises into women's singles final

World No. 1 An Se-young eased into the women's singles final in badminton at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on Monday, giving herself a chance to make history. An dispatched Chen Yufei of China 2-0 (21-5, 21-12) in the semifinals at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Ichinomiya, just northwest of the main host city, Nagoya. An will now try to become the first player to win back-to-back women's singles gold medals in Asian Games history. The women's singles event was first contested in 1962. In a rematch of the 2023 Asiad gold medal game, An continued her dominance against her longtime Chinese rival. An scored the first nine points of the opening game to set the tone. In the second game after Chen overcame a 5-1 early deficit to pull into a 6-6 tie, An scored five consecutive points to pull ahead again. An has now won five straight meetings against Chen. In Tuesday's final, An will face Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. An has won her past eight meetings against Yamaguchi, including their singles match during the team event here last week. Earlier on Monday, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana reac