'Twice in One Day?' An Seyoung Surprised by Japanese Event Schedule: "First Time Facing This, But I’ll Do My Best"

Controversy Over Grueling Badminton Schedule and Physical Demands
Ongoing Criticism Over Disorganized Operations Ahead of the 2026 Asian Games

World-class badminton player An Seyoung (SAMSUNG Life Insurance) has questioned the schedule for this year’s Asian Games, which requires athletes to compete in two matches in a single day.

Se-young An is playing in the women's team quarterfinals against Malaysia in badminton at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 22nd at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Photo by Yonhap News

At this Asian Games held in Japan, badminton players must complete all individual events within five days. This tight schedule contrasts with the typical structure of the Olympics or Asian Games, where team events run for four days and individual events for six days. Even An Seyoung, who received the No. 1 seed, must play both her round of 32 and round of 16 matches in a single day.

An Seyoung, for example, completely dominated Kamila Smagulova (Kazakhstan) 2-0 (21-5, 21-5) in just 20 minutes during her round of 32 match held earlier on the 26th. However, she must also compete in the round of 16 against Ranithma Tinudi Weihenna Liyanage (Sri Lanka) later at night.

In addition, in badminton, the next game cannot begin until the previous match has finished, making it impossible to predict exact start times. As a result, players are forced to arrive at the venue early and wait indefinitely. This is particularly challenging because badminton is an extremely physically demanding sport, and the long waiting times add to the fatigue.

An Seyoung stated, "I've never had to play two matches in a single day before, so it's complicated to figure out what to do," adding, "It's an awkward amount of time, making it hard to go back to the accommodation and return between matches." Nevertheless, she expressed confidence, saying, "Since we trained three times a day at the athletes' village, I’ll draw on that experience and try to perform well."

Meanwhile, the controversy at this year’s Asian Games extends beyond the badminton schedule. According to Yonhap News, the organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games decided not to provide a separate physical medal to athletes who only participated in the heats of relay or medley relay events in swimming but did not race in the final. Certificates will also no longer be given as paper documents, but instead will be provided as digital files to each team representative after the conclusion of the Games.

South Korean swimmer An Sehyeon said, “Whether you’re in the heats or the finals, you put in the same effort. It feels unfair to award medals only to those who competed in the final.” An official from the Korea Swimming Federation also explained that at previous Asian Games, physical medals had been given to athletes who participated in team event heats.

There have been additional incidents as well, such as players in baseball having to do their own laundry after games due to a lack of appropriate laundry service.

On the 18th, during the men’s hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh, a critical error occurred when the wrong national anthem for North Korea was played—prompting a protest from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, to which the organizing committee issued an official apology. On the 20th, Korea was mistakenly identified as "Republic of China" during the modern pentathlon awards ceremony, leading to a correction. On the same day, the South Korean men's basketball team canceled its morning practice before the final due to transportation issues, while members of the Chinese delegation were also stuck at the airport for hours. In fact, two to three such transportation disruptions have occurred daily.

Yoo Seungmin, President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, criticized the event’s management, stating, “If I had to give it a grade, it would be an F.” Japanese media have also reported that the pattern of poorly managed sporting events has persisted since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.