Badminton: Carolina Marín – "I will always be incredibly grateful" to He Bingjiao
After her devastating injury when leading in the women’s singles badminton semi-final, Spain’s Carolina Marín – who has suffered two prior serious knee injuries – was forced to abandon the tournament.
Her semi-final opponent, People’s Republic of China’s He Bingjiao, went on to win silver – and carried a Team Spain Olympic pin with her onto the podium.
In a statement posted to Instagram today, Marín wrote in Spanish:
"On Sunday, I suffered one of the hardest moments of my life. A few days have passed but I will need more time to absorb it. I suppose life throws at us situations we don’t want to go through and don’t deserve, but we have to accept them and get through them the best we can.
"I want to point out one person: I wished He Bingjiao all the best in the final, because sportsmanship comes above everything. But the moment on the podium is one of the most beautiful gestures I’ve ever had anyone make towards me, and I will always be incredibly grateful to her."
