The world is trying to catch up with Se Young
That was the admission by Japan's world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi after she reached the Malaysia Masters semi-finals after beating China's world No. 14, Gao Fang Jie, 18-21, 21-16, 22-20 at the Axiata Arena on Friday.
Akane is impressed by the arcane rise of Olympic champion and world No. 1 Se Young. "Previously, we were rivals and there was not much that separated us. But she has now surged ahead of everyone and we are all trying to catch up to her," she said.
Although Akane holds a 14-12 edge in her head-to-head record against Se Young, the Korean has claimed victory in three of their last five meetings.
Se Young aside, Akane, 27, will have to deal with the rise of Chinese shuttlers. She will next face China's world No. 3 Han Yue — who ousted Indonesia's world No. 13, Putri Kusuma Wardani, 21-12, 21-13 — in the Malaysia Masters quarter-finals.
Akane, who used to battle stalwarts such as 2012 Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui and former world champion Wang Yihan, has witnessed a changing of the guard among China's women's singles players on the World Tour.
While the current crop — including world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue and Chen Yufei — remain formidable, Akane felt they lack the dominance of their predecessors.
"Chinese players have always been strong. But compared to Xuerui and Yihan, the current generation is not as dominant," she added.
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