An untypical, nervous week for An Se Young ended on Sunday with a performance so typical of the Olympic champion – fighting with her back to the wall and converting looming defeat to victory. And with that, her third Super 1000 title of the year.

The Korean had started her campaign in Jakarta feeling ill at ease; something was off, but she wasn’t able to identify what it was. For someone who has dominated the last couple of seasons and won a world and Olympic title, it was an unusual situation to be in. But such is sport.

“I cannot find my confidence, and I was a bit scared on the court,” An said after her first round, despite beating Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-14 21-11. “I don’t know why this situation has happened, I feel a lack of confidence. I’m overthinking on court. After Sudirman Cup, I took a little break to focus on hard training but I don’t know why I’m not confident on court.”

That tentativeness didn’t quite leave her, although with every match, she was regaining confidence. There was a spell of shakiness against Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinals, when her opponent nearly caught up after trailing 16-8 in the opening game.

“I’m just thinking of one point at a time,” An said, still lacking her normal self-assurance. “I lost my confidence at the Singapore Open but I’m slowly finding it.”

Thus, when she fell behind early in the final against Wang Zhi Yi – one of the few players to beat her over the past year – it looked like curtains for the top seed. Wang was up a game and 17-9 – and then An began her astonishing comeback. The Korean would win 12 of the next 14 points to force a third game, and then it was all but over for the challenger. An had completed one of the most dramatic recoveries of a title bout.

“It was a really difficult game,” she would say. “It was really hard to control and I was frustrated because my performance wasn’t even half of it (normal level). But I just got on with it and it worked.

“This tournament is where I learned a lot about myself. I couldn’t get into my rhythm with my usual routine and play so I was frustrated with myself. But I believed in myself bit by bit and a lot of people cheered me on. I was able to find a little bit of confidence and played my game.

“I aim to win every match and I’d be disappointed with myself if I lost.

“I hate this feeling. I just think that if I keep this mindset and build up my strength a little bit, I will be able to bring good results.”

Highlights

» Like An, her compatriots Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae also won their third Super 1000 title this year. The world No.6 pair, who had close shaves in two matches earlier in the week, came through against surprise finalists Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 18-21 21-19 21-12.

» Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, looking to win their first Super 1000 title, were in the contest until the very end against Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning. The world No.1 Chinese however seized their opportunities at the end to edge the Malaysians 23-25 21-12 21-19.

» The replay of the 2019 men’s singles final between Anders Antonsen and Chou Tien Chen wasn’t quite the epic that had unfolded six years ago, but Antonsen had his revenge. The Dane withstood a fiery opening game before closing it out 22-20 21-14.

→ Results (Finals)