Paris: The 2016 Rio Olympics women’s singles gold medalist Carolina Marin was forced to retire from the women’s singles semifinals at the Paris Olympics on Sunday due to an injury sustained during a match against He Bingjiao of China.
Marin, who had made a remarkable comeback from two serious knee injuries, had a chance to compete for her second Olympic gold in Paris. In the semifinal against China’s He Bingjiao, Marin won the first game 21-14 and maintained a 10-8 lead in the second game. However, she suddenly suffered a knee injury, affecting her movement and forcing her to retire from the match in tears.
“She looked at me and said, ‘It’s broken,'” Marin’s coach, Fernando Rivas revealed in a post-match interview. “She knows that feeling, and if she tells me that, it’s true.”
Rivas, who has coached Marin for 16 years and considers her like a daughter, was heartbroken to see her injured. At that moment, the outcome of the match was no longer important.
“She was really healthy, in great form, and determined to win the gold medal. I am proud of her determination and resilience throughout this journey. Although she may not feel it now, she will be proud of herself in the future,” added Rivas, hoping Marin would recover soon and return to the court.
Due to her injury, Marin confirmed that she would not participate in the bronze medal match, missing out on a podium finish. Spanish Badminton Federation President Andoni Azurmendi called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to award Marin a bronze medal.
In other women’s singles semifinal matches, South Korea’s An Se Young defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16, advancing to her first Olympic final. She will face China’s He Bingjiao. An Se Young has the chance to win South Korea’s first Olympic women’s singles gold medal in 16 years.
After the match, An Se Young admitted she was very nervous and struggled to relax initially. She kept telling herself, “I can do it, I can do it.” She expressed her happiness at reaching the Olympic final for the first time but wants to save her joy for after the final match and focus on preparing for the gold medal match.
An Se Young is a favorite to win the women’s singles gold at the Paris Olympics and could become the second South Korean player to win the Olympic women’s singles gold after Bang Soo-Hyun in 1996. If she wins, she will achieve the Grand Slam of gold medals, having already won gold at the World Championships and Asian Games, becoming the second player in history to accomplish this feat after Spain’s Carolina Marin.