Everything seemed perfect, but there was none of it. “A few hours before the game, I suffered a very important loss for me. I didn’t know until the last moment if I was going to be ready, but playing here, in Spain, and with all the people I knew would come to see me, I couldn’t stop playing. For me, a withdrawal is big words”, revealed Carolina Marín, with tears in her eyes, just after losing to the Indonesian Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (10-21, 21-15 and 21-10 in one hour), in the semifinals. of the Madrid Spain Masters. Eleven months ago, the woman from Huelva, after destroying her knee, reappeared at the Gallur Sports Center (Madrid) to, 337 days after the injury, achieve her sixth European Championship in a row. This time, in addition, in the match for the title, on that same stage, Pusarla Sindhu, Olympic runner-up at the Rio Games, expected those who crowned the Spanish. Everything seemed to lead to the same wonderful place, but this time, however, badminton had taken a backseat.
And despite everything, Carolina stood up. And how. In the first set, she was flying around the court like she had been all week. Along with the coach of the Olympic champion, Fernando Rivas, was her psychologist, María Martínez, hinting that it was not just another game. At the first break, however, with a resounding 11-3 on the scoreboard, only the coach and the pupil spoke. And it was to confirm that the tactical plan, what they could control, was perfect. The six-time European champion was counting her shots for winners and the Indonesian for errors. Almost all forced. Time and time again, Tunjung, 12th in the world in ascent, ran into the net after very aggressive shots from Carolina, who was looking for the feet of the rival with more direction than power. They were plummeting. And Gregoria, from her 166 centimeters, watched them fall. She helplessly do nothing about it. “Carolina, Carolina”, sang the stands, by way of celebration. “Indonesia, Indonesia”, answered some timid voice. And the Asian player, coming from a country where Marín “is like Messi”, also did it.
With more mobility, and emboldened by a strangely imprecise Carolina, she recovered her sensations in a congested second set, which did not break until 8-8. Then the Indonesian player would shoot up. The equality in the sleeve was broken with a partial three points (11-8); the equality in the game returned with an even greater pull on the scoreboard, until 17-11. Third set. Start again. Return to a beginning that, surely, most players would not even have reached; With more than enough reasons, they would not have started the game. Too much emotional charge, too much time on the track. Despite a promising start (4-1), the duel, the internal suffering, seemed too long for a Marín who seemed to not even dispute the last points. The stands roared trying to lift it when, with 14-10 against, it stayed on the ground. She will rise up, as she has always done.
Fifth semifinals since injury
In sports, Carolina is closer to her essence every day. Before the all england openfrom which he had to withdraw due to a strong flu process, was at “90% of his physical and mental capacities”, as his coach assured this newspaper. Totally free of pain, in Madrid, she was playing her fifth semifinals since her serious injury, with the title in the Europeans and finals in Paris (October 2022) and Indonesia (January of this year). “It is more than gratitude (to Madrid). It has been a very good week in terms of sensations. I have tried to do my best and have that emotional calm, but sometimes external emotions block you. And that happened to me at the end of the second set and, obviously, the third. Now, I need to surround myself with my family and have their love. I need to reset a bit. It has been a pretty hard day for me, ”he added after the game. You are on your way to 100%. His next stop, which he will think about “when he’s already on the plane”, will be at the Masters in Orleans (France), next week.