Carolina Marin, the former Olympic champion, was forced to withdraw from her badminton semifinal on Sunday, visibly upset as her right knee gave way in a heart-wrenching moment. Marin, who clinched the women's singles gold at the Rio 2016 Games, was poised to advance to the final but suffered a collapse during the second game against China's He Bingjiao. As Marin lay on the court, her coaches and He rushed to her aid, with Marin remaining on the ground for several minutes, holding her leg. She managed to stand and leave the court, later returning with a knee support but was unable to move effectively, conceding the next two points before collapsing once more and ultimately retiring from the match.
Marin, seeded fourth in Paris, had won the first game 21-14 and was ahead 10-6 in the second when she exited the court in tears, later undergoing a medical examination. The Spaniard was the frontrunner for the Tokyo Olympics title three years prior but sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury just months before the event, marking her second ACL injury. He advanced to the final, where she will face South Korea's world number one, An Se-young. He expressed her sorrow to reporters, stating she felt "very sad" about the incident and had not been focused on the final.
An Se-young secured her place in the final by defeating Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in an earlier semifinal match.
