Former gold medallist Carolina Marin was forced to retire from her women’s singles semifinal against China’s He Bingjiao after she sustained an injury on her right knee during the second game at Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday.
Spain’s Marin, who won the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after defeating India’s P V Sindhu in the final, got injured while leading 21-14, 10-6. Marin, a three-time world champion, put on a knee brace and played two more points before she decided to retire and broke down in tears.
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Her coach, Fernando Rivas, told reporters that he had “no words to describe what happened”.
“Carolina knows that at an Olympic Games, you win or you lose,” he said. “But not this way.”
The 31-year-old Marin has previously suffered from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries on both her knees in the past.
“She was in pain, it’s a sensation that she already knew,” said Rivas.
“Now we have a lesson and we need to restart and try to understand what happened.”
He will face Republic of Korea’s An Seyoung in the final. An defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in the first semifinal.
Later in the day, Badminton World Federation confirmed that Tunjung will be awarded the bronze medal since World No. 4 Marin will not be able to play against her.
Sindhu prayed for Marin’s speedy recovery in a social media post. “To one of my greatest rivals and dearest friends on the tour, I am sending all the positive energy in the world your way. You were playing a phenomenal match, and I was deeply rooting for you,” she wrote.
In a similar incident at London Olympics in 2012, China’s Wang Xin was up 21-18, 1-0 against India’s Saina Nehwal in the bronze medal match when she injured her knee and could not continue. Four years later in Rio, China’s Li Xuerui sustained an ACL injury against Marin in the semifinals which forced her to give a walkover to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the bronze medal match.
(With inputs from AFP)
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