Paris [France], August 4 (ANI): Spain’s Carolina Marin injured her knee and was forced to forfeit the women’s singles semi-final badminton match against China’s He Bingjiao at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday.
Marin, Rio 2016 gold medallist and a three-time world champion, had clinched the first game 21-14 and was leading the second at the La Chapelle Arena. However, while returning a shot from He Bingjiao, Marin landed awkwardly on her right knee.
Marin tried to play through the injury but the Spaniard had to retire from the match due to the intensity of her knock.
This meant that He Bingjiao went through to the women’s singles badminton final at the ongoing marquee event and was assured a medal, as per Olympics.com.
Speaking after the match, He Bingjiao said as per Olympics.com, “I feel very sad about this. She told me she was having problems with her ankle and still managed to win (her previous matches) with this. I hope she will recover quickly and get back to playing again.”
Talking about the Men’s singles quarterfinal, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen lost to reigning Olympic champion Victor Axelsen in the semifinals of the men’s singles competition at the ongoing Paris Olympics. Lakshya lost to Victor by 20-22, 14-21.
Despite facing a higher-ranked player, world number 22 Lakshya matched the world number two’s intensity really well for a good chunk of the match. At one point, having won six points in a row, Lakshya was leading with a scoreline of 15-9 in the first game. Axelsen made a strong comeback and that, combined with some unforced errors, helped the Olympic champion bag the first game 22-20.
In the second game, Lakhsya was fighting really hard, leading by 7-0 at one point. But Olympic champion Victor showcased his big-match temperament by making a strong turnaround to win the game by 21-14 and reach the gold medal match in 54 minutes.
Axelsen will be defending his Olympic gold medal against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Monday. On the other hand, Lakshya is still in the hunt for a medal and will play for the bronze medal against Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia tomorrow as well.
Axelsen improves his record against Sen, going up to 8-1 in nine single matches. The Indian shuttler’s single win against the Danish came in the 2022 German Open semi-final bout, when Lakshya sealed a 21-13, 12-21, 22-20 victory. (ANI)
