Spain: The Spanish badminton superstar, Carolina Marin who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to her left leg during a training session in May of 2021, is currently enjoying vacation with his friends and planning to make her return to competitive badminton at the 2021 BWF World Championships that will be held in her hometown, Huelva, from November 29 to December 5, 2021.
There were serious fears for her career when her team confirmed that she has to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics to undergo surgery after scans revealed a tear on the ACL and the meniscus on her left knee at the end of May.
In an interview with Spanish media, El Pais, the Rio Olympics gold medalist said that she was watching the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics at home with mixed feelings.
Ｆｒｅｅｄｏｍ 😊 pic.twitter.com/BbwHUoN3a3
— Carolina Marín (@CarolinaMarin) August 22, 2021
“I watched the opening ceremony and I felt sad and angry. This unfortunate injury has made everything went to waste,” said Marin.
“It was harder than the first injury. I am going to focus on the Paris 2024 Games,” added Marin.
Prior to the left knee injury, Marin also sustained a career-threatening ACL injury on her right knee during the final of the Indonesia Masters in January 2019. She was forced to undergo surgery and a tough rehabilitation process but managed to make a successful comeback eight-month after that injury to win the 2019 China Open by defeating World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 in September of 2019.
After undergoing surgery in June for the ACL injury on her left knee, Marin has started her rehabilitation process and has begun some light training in July. Not only did she have to deal with the painful physical rehabilitation process, but she has to also deal with the psychological pressure as she has injured the ACL on both of her legs within 3 years. In addition, she lost her father on July 26, 2020, due to illness, and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted her life.
She also mentioned how her coach, Fernando Rivas, has played a major role in her life.
“I believe in destiny, which put Fernando on the path. He came to see me when I was 13 years old, and I have been training in Madrid since I was 14 years old. Fernando allowed me to make badminton well known in my country!”
“Nobody knows how to spell the word ‘badminton’ at that time! My parents were very brave to let me go to Madrid to train when I was 14 years old, I was just a child. It’s not easy for them, but they let me fulfill my dream.”
Marin also jokingly said she fought a lot with her mother and her coach.
“I didn’t fight so much with my father. With my mother, yes we fought a lot because we both have a strong character. And I have fought a lot with my coach too. I’d say they are even.”
When talking about the key factor behind her success, comparing talent versus hard work, she chose the latter.
“I believe little in talent and a lot in work. I started playing when I was eight years old. At 20 I was training nine hours a day.”
