Paris 2024: Tragedy strikes as Marin leaves the court in tears
The Spanish 2016 Olympic gold medallist injured her operated knee and was force to retire in her semi-final
New Delhi: It was on Wednesday that Carolina Marin had said that she was “happy like a kid” at the Paris Olympics after missing the Tokyo Games three years ago with a serious knee injury.
That feeling went up in a puff of smoke on Sunday as she instead found a tragedy that her older self knows so well.
She was just 11 points away from sealing a place in the final when she finally conceded the match. Just a couple of points earlier, she had landed awkwardly on her surgically repaired knee.
The 31-year-old from Spain, who was leading 21-14, 10-6, immediately knew she was done.
“She’s bad,” said her coach Fernando Rivas just after the game. “She fell and felt something break, a familiar feeling. She couldn’t carry on. It was impossible for her to continue. She is devastated. It’s really cruel, this situation, how she is ending this Olympic Games.”
A familiar feeling indeed. She has been through so much just to make it to the Olympics. A gold medal winner in Rio 2016, she was hot favourite for the Tokyo title until she suffered a cruciate ligament knee tear just months before the tournament.
That kept her out for a year and it came just two years after she ruptured the ACL in her other knee. That injury had kept her out for eight months of 2019.
She also had to deal with the death of her father in 2020.
But she found support and a goal in badminton and for this to happen in Paris is perhaps the cruellest blow there can be.
As she slapped the court in anger and frustration, the crowd slowly got to its feet. The realisation that her journey in Paris was over slowly dawned on them.
“It’s not fair for her, she’s been a warrior and she’s been working very hard to get back to a world class level,” said Rivas. “I’m really proud of her journey, her determination, her resilience. I’m sure now she doesn’t feel that way, but she will feel proud of herself in the future.
Her opponent He Bing Jiao was crying in her post-match interview as well.
“I really don’t want to see this kind of thing happen,” she said. “Marin even cheered me on in the end, telling me to play well in the final.”
Marin refused to get onto the wheelchair, almost apologising to the crowd while in tears. To break down so close to your goal can take some getting over. The Spaniard has done it before, in fact she has done it twice. But the Olympics only come along once in four years.
Will she still be around then? At least, Indian ace PV Sindhu believes she will be. The 29-year-old who has often run into Marin on tour – she lost the Rio gold medal match to the Spaniard – put out a message in support on Instagram.
“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,” said Sindhu. “Deep down, I believe there was no player on tour I hated playing against more than you. Your willpower, sheer determination, and uncanny ability to put players under pressure are unmatched.”
She further added: “Knowing you and your willpower, it’s only a matter of time, buddy! Just know I will always be your biggest supporter.”
When Marin was injured for the first time in 2019, she posted a video with a hashtag which loosely translated to “I can because I believe I can”. Suffice to say, her belief will be sorely tested once again.