Spain’s Marin reaches Olympic badminton semi-finals

PARIS: Spain´s Carolina Marin moved into the Olympic badminton semi-finals on Saturday and said it had been a long journey back since missing the Tokyo Games with a serious knee injury.

Marin, the 2016 women´s singles champion, beat Japan´s Aya Ohori 21-13, 21-14 at La Chapelle Arena to set up a final-four showdown with China´s He Bingjiao.

Marin was hot favourite for the title at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago until she suffered a cruciate ligament knee tear just months before the tournament.

That kept her out for a year and came just two years after she ruptured the ligament in her other knee -- an injury that sidelined her for eight months of 2019.

Marin said it “means a lot” to be back in medal contention on the Olympic stage.

“Three years ago, I couldn´t think that I would reach a semi-final here in Paris,” she said. “The journey has been a long way but I am here and I feel really proud of myself.”

South Korea´s world number one An Se-young also progressed with a 15-21, 21-17, 21-8 win over Japan´s two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi.

An´s semi-final opponent will be Indonesia´s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who beat Thailand´s Ratchanok Intanon 25-23, 21-9. Marin beat eighth seed Ohori in 52 minutes and looked in control of their match from the off.