Spain's Carolina Marin reacts as she falls from an injury in her women's singles badminton semi-final match against China's He Bing Jiao during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. GETTY IMAGES

Spanish badminton player Carolina Marin, Olympic champion at Rio 2016, had to withdraw from the badminton semi-finals at the Paris Olympics after suffering a right knee injury while dominating China's Bing Jiao He, ending her chances at the Games in a cruel way.

At the time of her retirement, the Spaniard was leading 21-14 and 10-8 against China's Bing Jiao He. Leading 10-4 in the second game, the Spaniard's right knee buckled as she landed on an overhead smash and she immediately collapsed to the floor. Marin, 31, suffered a serious injury to the same knee in 2019 and an even more serious injury to her left knee two years later.

Under the supervision of the medical staff and in consultation with her coach Fernando Rivas, Marin decided to play on with a knee brace, but she was completely immobilised and required three consecutive stitches before collapsing on the ground in tears and agreeing to retire.

Marin left the Porte de la Chapelle arena to a roar of applause, with the largely Spanish crowd on their feet chanting her name and sending encouragement to the player, who thanked them for their affection and wept as she left the pitch.


Carolina Marin is comforted by her coach while reacting from her injury in the women's singles badminton semi-final. GETTY IMAGES
Carolina Marin is comforted by her coach while reacting from her injury in the women's singles badminton semi-final. GETTY IMAGES

Eight years after winning the Rio Olympics and overcoming torn ligaments in both knees, Carolina Marin returned to medal contention in Paris on Saturday thanks to a solid 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) victory over Japan's Aya Ohori.

"We don't have the exact confirmation but it points to an ACL. But she definitely has an injury," said the president of the Spanish Badminton Federation, Andoni Azurmendi.

After five years in which she overcame two serious ACL injuries, Marin returned to the top of badminton in 2023 with a victory at the Orleans Masters and a silver medal at the World Championships against South Korea's An Se-Young, the current world number one.



In 2024, she had won the All England, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the calendar, and her aim in Paris was to repeat her Rio 2016 gold, becoming the only non-Asian player to do so since badminton was added to the Olympic programme in Barcelona in 1992.

Bing Jiao He progressed to the final, where she will play South Korean world number one An Se-young. An beat Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in the day's earlier semi-final. A clearly uncomfortable He told reporters that she felt "very sad" about what had happened. "She was playing perfectly well and I was very passive," said He. "I wasn't thinking about the final at all."