World No. 1 An Se Young out of India Open after aggravating knee injury

World No. 1 and defending champion An Se Young of Korea retired hurt against Singapore’s Jia Min Yeo after aggravating her knee injury during a women’s singles quarterfinal match at India Open super 750 badminton tournament here on Friday.

The 21-year-old Young, who had hurt her knee during the Asian Games last October, was trailing 19-21, when she decided to throw in the towel.

The world No. 20 Singaporean thus recorded only her second win against Young, who had made a good start to the season with a title-winning run at Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week.

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“I knew the injury could get worse but I wanted to play more matches ahead of the Olympics,” she said.

Jia Min was happy to execute her plan but acknowledged that her opponent was not at her best shape.

“I think I had to be fast on the court and make less error, try to not lose my focus, and I am happy I won the first game, but she was not running her best due to her physical condition. Hope she comes back strong in next tournament,” Jia Min said.

Jia Min will next face former world number one Tai Tzu Ying, who beat China’s sixth seed He Bing Jiao 21-12 21-12 in another quarterfinal.