World No. 1 An Se-young advanced to the semifinals of the women's singles badminton event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday after knocking off her longtime rival from Japan. An, the 2023 world champion, defeated Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 21-8) in the quarterfinals at La Chapelle Arena in Paris. Yamaguchi was in control of the first game, getting An to move all over the court with some deft shotmaking. Each time An got close, Yamaguchi pulled away with a series of her own winners and some errant shots by the South Korean. An scored four straight points to get to 10-9 before Yamaguchi scored three straight. An made it a 15-14 game for Yamaguchi but then the Japanese player grabbed the next five points en route to a 21-15 win in Game 1. An returned the favor in the second game and forced Yamaguchi to make mistakes. A 7-2 run put An ahead by 11-6, and the South Korean went up by as much as 17-11. Yamaguchi responded with five straight points but An hung on to take the game 21-17. The third game pr oved to be the easiest one for An, who had Yamaguchi on the ropes with hard winners. Yamaguchi, slowing down considerably after taking the first game, kept missing shots left and right, and An closed out the match on a Yamaguchi error. In the semifinals on Sunday, An will face Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia. She has beaten Tunjung, world No. 8, in all seven matches so far. With Yamaguchi, former world No. 1 who has been slowed by injuries of late, likely making it to the final eight, the quarterfinals had been considered the most difficult roadblock for An. Before Saturday's win, An had gone 10-13 against her Japanese nemesis. "This was the match I was most worried about," An said. "I kept telling myself I could win, and did my best until the end." An is now two wins away from her first Olympic gold. "It feels so far away, but if I just take it one game at a time, I will eventually get there and realize my dream," An said. "I've been dealing with nerves all along, and I am trying to channel that i nto something more positive. I will just try to be myself." As for finding that extra gear against Yamaguchi after going down early, An said, "I've been consistent with my training routines. No matter how tired I was, I always got up at the same time every morning to run and work out." Source: Yonhap News Agency