World No. 1 An Se-young won her first match of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in 33 minutes as South Korea beat Malaysia 3-1 in the women's team quarterfinals. An defeated world No. 28 Letshanaa Karupathevan 21-12, 21-8.
Korea took the tie after strong singles performances and advanced to the semifinals. The result keeps An's campaign for another major individual title on track while also moving the team event forward.
Japan will be Korea's semifinal opponent after advancing through its own quarterfinal. That matchup will decide which team reaches the gold-medal contest.
For An, the opening win provided a fast start without a long match load. The next test is whether Korea can convert that momentum against a stronger Japanese lineup.