Rio Olympic champion shuttler Carolina Marin announces retirement

One of badmintons alltime greats Carolina Marin on Thursday announced her retirement due to a persistent knee injury bringing the curtain down on a glittering career that has an Olympic gold medal and three World Championship titlesIn a video message shared on her social media accounts captioned My journey ends here the former World No 1 Spaniard said the recurring injury had forced her to take the difficult call opting to prioritise her longterm health over a final appearance on courtMi camino acaba aquiacute Gracias a todos porque tambieacuten habeacuteis formado parte de ello En esta nueva aventura llevareacute conmigo los valores que me han acompantildeado hasta ahora e intentareacute devolver a la sociedad todo lo que me ha dado en este tiempo Ha sido un viaje maravilloso hearts pictwittercom3aKNDo0Mc4mdash Carolina Mariacuten CarolinaMarin March 26 2026My journey in professional badminton has come to an end and therefore I will not be competing in the European Championships in Huelva Marin saidI wanted us to see each other for the last time on a track but I dont want to put my body at risk for that I said many times and I am consistent with my decisionMarin shared one of modern badmintons most compelling rivalries with Indias twotime Olympic medallist PV Sindhu with the duo producing several memorable encounters over the yearsShe famously defeated Sindhu in the final of the Rio 2016 Olympics and again in the summit clash of the 2018 World ChampionshipsThe 32yearold was set to feature in next months European Championships in Huelva Spain an event that was meant to mark her farewell on home soilI wish I had gotten the opportunity to end my career in a different way but sometimes in life things dont always go the way that we want it to and we have to accept thatMarin retires with an illustrious record having won world titles in 2014 2015 and 2018 seven European crowns and the Olympic gold at Rio 2016Her last competitive appearance came at the Paris 2024 Olympics a remarkable return after overcoming two anterior cruciate ligament tears in 2019 and 2021In the end I did retire on a track in Paris in 2024 only then we did not know she saidThank you for never letting me fall for being by my side and for supporting me in the hardest moments Thank you for your unconditional love Marin addedAlthough she will not compete in Huelva Marin said she will still be present at the championshipsIn a way I will be retiring at Huelva not with a racquet in my hand but by giving back all the energy to the city where I was born and to experience an unforgettable week the Spaniard saidI leave feeling very proud of everything I have achieved in the sport Not just the titles but also earning the respect of the sports world both on and off the court she saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever