Tragedy strikes Carolina Marin again
Tragedy has struck Carolina Marin once again.
Just 11 points from returning to the badminton Olympic women’s singles final, the Rio 2016 champion suffered a right-knee injury in the second game of her semi-final against He Bingjiao that forced her to withdraw from the match - and the tournament - on Sunday (4 August).
Marin convincingly won the first game 21-14 and was well on her to the gold-medal match - until she landed awkwardly on her surgically repaired knee and went down screaming in pain.
Dead silence pierced La Chapelle Arena. Her team rushed to aid. With the capacity crowd chanting her name, the 31-year-old went to the bench and put on a brace in an attempt to give it another go.
However, Marin dragged her knee as she played and after two points, she knew her Olympics were over.
Marin went down on both knees, wept uncontrollably, pounding the court in frustration. She got up to a standing ovation and walked out on her own, refusing the wheelchair as she left.
Marin did not speak to the media as she left the arena for hospital.
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