Carolina María Marín Martín (born 15 June 1993) is a Spanish badminton player. She is anOlympic Champion, three-timeWorld Champion, eight-time European Champion, and formerWorld No. 1 in women's singles. Widely regarded as one of the greatest female badminton players in the world, her accolades include winning the Olympic gold medal in women's singles at the2016 Rio Olympics, thereby becoming the only non-Asian female player to win a badminton gold medal at theOlympics,[1] the World Championships in2014,2015, and2018,[2][3][4] and being ranked consistent World No. 1 for a record total of 66 weeks.[5][6][7][8] Marín is the only player in history to win at least seven gold medals in a single discipline of any continental championship (individual events), having won everyEuropean Championships title since2014, and aEuropean Games title in2023.[9] Marín was appointed as the brand ambassador of football majorLaLiga andMeliá Hotels International for its promotion in other countries.[10][11] In 2024, Marín was awarded thePrincess of Asturias Award for her contribution in Sports.[12]
Marín was a keenflamenco dancer in her childhood. After a friend introduced her to badminton, she fell in love with the sport and decided to stop dancing and play badminton wholeheartedly. At the age of eight, she started playing badminton at the IES La Orden inHuelva. She had to leave her hometown and her family at a very young age to travel all the way to Madrid for training at the National Centre.[13][14]
In 2011, she alongside her teammate,Beatriz Corrales, made history for the Spanish badminton, after placing two representatives of Spain in the final at the continentalEuropean Junior Championships held in Vantaa, Finland, and Marín grabbed the gold medal.[18] She also competed at theWorld Junior Championships in Taipei, reaching the semi-finals, but lost to Elisabeth Purwaningtyas of Indonesia and settled for the bronze medal.[19]
2012 London Olympicsshe attended her first ever Olympics and lost in the round robin to Li Xue Rui 21-13 21-11
2013–2014: First Grand Prix title, European and World Champions
In 2013, she became the first Spanish badminton player to win a Grand Prix Gold title after winning theLondon Grand Prix Gold.[20] In August, Marín played for the Bangalore-based team Banga Beats in the inaugural edition of theIndian Badminton League (IBL).[21] In April, she won her firstEuropean Championships title.[22]
On 31 August 2014, she defeatedLi Xuerui of China in theWorld Championships women's singles final and became the first Spaniard to win a World Championship title and the third European female player to achieve the gold medal, afterLene Køppen (1977) andCamilla Martin (1999).[23] At the age of 21, she became the youngest European that won the World Championships ever.[24]
2015: Five Superseries title, second World Championships and World #1
In 2015, she won theAll England Open, her first Superseries Premier title in her first Superseries Premier final after defeatingSaina Nehwal in the final with score 16–21, 21–14, 21–7.[25] The title propelled her to rank number 4 in the world ranking and, for the first time, no. 1 in the Superseries standing.[26] AtIndia Open, she had the chance to unseatLi Xuerui as the new world no. 1, however, she narrowly lost to Thai prodigyRatchanok Intanon in a close three games at the semi-finals stage.[27] She rose to a career-high as world no. 2 in the world ranking on 2 April.
On 5 April, Marín won her second straight Superseries Premier title, beating Olympic championLi Xuerui for the second consecutive time at the2015 Malaysia Open with a score of 19–21, 21–19, 21–17. In August, she defended her title at theWorld Championship by beatingSaina Nehwal of India in 21–16, 21–19.[28] 2015 was the golden year for Marín, where in addition to defending the World Championships title, she also won other Superseries titles such as theAustralian Open,[29]French Open,[30] andHong Kong Open.[31]
In August, she represented hercountry at theRio Olympics. She arrived at Rio as the number one seed and won a gold medal by beating India'sP. V. Sindhu in thewomen's singles final with a score of 19–21, 21–12, 21–15. She made history by becoming the first non-Asian to win the Olympic badminton women's singles gold medal.[1][32] An indoor arena in Huelva is named after her honour, with Marín herself attending the inauguration.[33]
2017–2018: Fourth European and Third World Championships title
In 2017, Marín won theJapan Open Superseries title after beatingHe Bingjiao of China in the final, winning a Superseries title after almost two years.[34] At theHong Kong Open, which took place in late November, Marín retired toMichelle Li, losing 21–19, 13–21, 8–11, due to a hip injury that she sustained during the match. Marín later announced on Twitter and Instagram that, due to her hip injury, she would not be participating in the season-endingDubai World Superseries Finals.[35]
On 29 April 2018, she won her fourth consecutiveEuropean Championships title in her home soil Huelva, Spain, by beatingEvgeniya Kosetskaya with a score of 21–15, 21–7 in the final.[9] On 5 August, she won the title in theWorld Championships by defeatingP. V. Sindhu of India in straight games 21–19, 21–10, making her the first female player in history to win three World Championships titles.[2] In September, she won World Tour titles at theJapan andChina Open.[36][37]
Marín began her 2019 season with a runner-up effort at theMalaysia Masters, where she lost toRatchanok Intanon in straight games.[38] On 27 January, Marín suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during theIndonesia Masters final againstSaina Nehwal, when she was 10–3 ahead in the first games. Marín subsequently retired from the match and underwent ACL reconstruction surgery the same day as soon as she arrived back in Madrid.[39] She had a four-month recovery, dedicating ten hours a day to physical and technical rehabilitation, with morning and afternoonphysiotherapy sessions, and swimming pool work.[40]
In September, after an eight-month break forced by the injury, Marín returned to competition at the2019 Vietnam Open but suffered an opening-round defeat toSupanida Katethong.[41] However, she rebounded and won theChina Open on 22 September, defeatingTai Tzu-ying in the finals with a score of 14–21, 21–17, 21–18.[42] This was Marín's first title of the season, which she followed with the semi-finals at theDenmark Open, where she was defeated in three tight games byNozomi Okuhara. She reached the final of theFrench Open next week, where she was defeated by Korean youngsterAn Se-young in three games 21–16, 18–21, 5–21. Her achievements in the last three tournaments succeeded in bringing her back into the world top 10 of BWF women's singles ranking.[43] She further wonSyed Modi andItalian International tournaments later in the year.[44][45]
Marín started the 2020 season at the Southeast Asian tour on a positive note; reaching the semi-finals ofMalaysia Masters where she lost toChen Yufei. A week later, she then reached the final of theIndonesia Masters, where she narrowly missed the title after getting defeated fromRatchanok Intanon in three games 19–21, 21–11, 18–21.[46] She continued her good form and thereafter reached the semi-finals ofThailand Masters, which she lost to top seedAkane Yamaguchi in a close rubber game.[47] In February, she reached the final of her home eventBarcelona Spain Masters, where she lost in an upset to rising Thai starPornpawee Chochuwong in the rubber games 21–11, 16–21, 18–21.[48] In March, she competed as 8th seeds in theAll England Open, but stopped by the eventual championTai Tzu-ying in the semi-finals.[49]
In July, Marín's father died following an accident in February.[50] She reached the final of the Denmark Open in October for the very first time but was defeated by Okuhara in straight games.[51]
Marín won the first title of the year, theThailand Open Super 1000 event, by beating World no. 1Tai Tzu-ying in two comfortable games. She didn't lose any game in the whole tournament.[52] Continuing her scintillating form, she won the second edition of Thailand Open, theToyota Thailand Open, also a super 1000 event by beating Tai yet again.[53] In contesting her first-everWorld Tour Finals final, she lost to same rival Tai in three games after failing to capitalize her lead in the final game.[54] She won her first world tour title in Switzerland by beating reigning World championP. V. Sindhu with a very dominating display, winning 21–12, 21–5.[55] Marín planned to compete at theAll England Open but pulled out of the competition due to an injury she suffered in the first round of the Swiss Open.[56][57]
Marín made history as the first-ever player to claim five consecutive titles at theEuropean Championships, defeating young DaneLine Christophersen in the final.[58] She was expected to defend her title at the2020 Tokyo Olympics but was forced to withdraw due to knee injury she suffered in June while training.[59]
In 2022, 11 months after Marín second ACL injury, she won her sixthEuropean Championships title.[60] Her best result in the 2022 BWF World Tour was reaching theFrench Open final, but lost the match toHe Bingjiao in a close rubber games.[61]
2023: Silver medals at World Championships and World Tour Finals, return to top 5
Marín began 2023 at theMalaysia Open, the first Super 1000 event of the year, reaching the quarter-finals before losing toChen Yufei in two close games.[62] She repeated this result at theIndia Open, falling toAkane Yamaguchi in three games.[63] At theIndonesia Masters, Marín reached her first final in nearly two years.[64] She faced world number twoAn Se-young in a three-game match lasting 80 minutes, ultimately losing.[65] In March, Marín reached the quarter-finals ofAll England Open Championship but withdrew due to injury, giving An Se-young a walkover.[66] She returned home for theSpain Masters, reaching the semi-finals before being defeated byGregoria Mariska Tunjung in three games.[67] Marín claimed her first title in over two years at theOrléans Masters, a Super 300 event, after defeatingBeiwen Zhang in a three-game final.[68]
In June, Marín faced world number one An Se-young in theThailand Open semi-finals, losing in straight games.[69] TheSingapore Open marked the first time in 2023 that she failed to reach a tournament quarter-finals as she lost toSupanida Katethong in the second round.[70] However, She rebounded at theIndonesia Open, a Super 1000 event, defeatingGoh Jin Wei,Yeo Jia Min,Tai Tzu-ying, andRatchanok Intanon to reach the final. There, she lost again to Chen Yufei with an 18–21, 19–21 scoreline, mirroring their Malaysia Open match result.[71] Marín capped off June by representing Spain at theEuropean Games, winning her first gold medal in the tournament with a straight-game victory overMia Blichfeldt.[72]
Entering theWorld Championships taking place in Denmark as the sixth seed, Marín exceeded expectations as she defeated top-four players Tai Tzu-ying and Akane Yamaguchi en route to her fourth World Championship final.[73] There, she lost in straight games to top-seeded An Se-young, earning a silver medal.[74] In September, she reached the quarter-finals of both theChina andHong Kong Opens.[75][76]
In October, Marín's strong year-to-date performance saw her return to the world number five ranking. She reached the final of theDenmark Open, with a notable quarter-finals win over Tai Tzu-ying, there she lost to Chen Yufei in straight games.[77] This semi-finals was marked by her tension withP.V. Sindhu over shuttle post-rally returns and screams, resulting in yellow cards for both players; both players later publicly apologised and reconciled.[78] At theFrench Open, Marín suffered an upset loss toAya Ohori in the quarter-finals.[79] Further results included reaching the quarter-finals of theJapan Masters and early upset in theChina Masters to unseededNguyễn Thùy Linh.[80][81] Marín's world tour ranking of number four qualified her for the $2.5-million-prized year-endWorld Tour Finals. She won all her round-robin matches without dropping a game, including a notable win over Chen Yufei.[82] After defeating Chen again in a three-game, 104-minute semi-finals, Marín reached her first-ever World Tour Finals final.[83] She finished as runner-up after losing to Tai Tzu-ying in three games.[84] In 2023, she earned $257,335 in prize money, making her the year's fourteenth highest-earning badminton player.[85]
2024: All England title, seventh European Championships title, return to top 3
Marín began 2024 by opting out of BWF tournaments in January and February, citing continued recovery from injuries.[86] Her return to competition was at theEuropean Women's Team Championships as part of theSpain's national team.[87] Despite Marín's individual victories overKirsty Gilmour andLine Kjærsfeldt in the semi-finals and finals, respectively, her team finished as runners-up in the tournament, which was by far the best result for Spain's national team.[88] In March, Marín experienced an early exit at theFrench Open, losing to Beiwen Zhang in the opening round.[89] However, she rebounded at the prestigiousAll England Open. En route to the final, she had notable victories overWang Zhiyi, Chen Yufei, and Tai Tzu-ying. In her final match against Akane Yamaguchi, Marín secured a hard-fought victory in the first game (26–24) and was leading 11–1 in the second game when Yamaguchi retired due to injury, granting Marín her second All England title after a nine-year interval.[90] In the following week, Marín extended her winning streak by clinching her second title of the year, theSwiss Open title, thus becoming the oldest women's singles player in 16 years to achieve this feat, followingZhang Ning's triumph in2007. In the quest for her second Swiss Open title, she defeated Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a hard fought final, with a scoreline of 21–19, 13–21, 22–20.[91]
In April, Marín successfully defended herEuropean Championships title without dropping a game throughout the whole tournament. This achievement helped Marín become the only player in badminton history to win at least seven gold medals at a single discipline (women's singles) of any continental championship, as she has won the European Championships consecutively since 2014.[92] With 9,200 points gained from winning the championship, Marín returned to world's no. 3 for the first time in over three years (since March 2021). In June, enteringIndonesia Open as the third seed, Marín overpowered Zhang Yiman,Hsu Wen-chi, andHan Yue with straight wins before losing to Chen Yufei after three games in the semi-finals.[93] Marín then decided to skip all the tournaments leading up to theOlympics in order to focus on the preparations of this paramount event.
Entering theOlympics as the fourth seed, Marín advanced effortlessly through the group stage with straight wins against unseeded playersJenjira Stadelmann andRachael Darragh.[94] In the round of 16, she defeated the ninth seed Beiwen Zhang in three games to advance to the quarter-finals,[95] where she secured a straight-games victory over the eighth seedAya Ohori.[96] At 31, Marín became the second oldest women's singles player to reach an Olympic semi-final, where she faced the sixth seedHe Bingjiao. Marín won the first game 21-14 and was leading 10-5 in the second game when she sustained a serious knee injury following a bad landing from an overhead smash, causing her to collapse.[97] Despite the injury, she played on with a knee brace on and conceded two more points before retiring from the match due to limited mobility. Due to the injury, Marín was unable to compete in the bronze medal match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.[98]
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[100] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[101]
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[103] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels wereSuperseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011.[104] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
^Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018)."Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation.Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved15 January 2018.
.jpg)
P. V. Sindhu
Gold
Li Xuerui
Gold
An Se-young
Silver
Mia Blichfeldt
Kirsty Gilmour
Evgeniya Kosetskaya
Elyzabeth Purwaningtyas
Bronze
Beatriz Corrales
Nozomi Okuhara
Winner
Ratchanok Intanon
Runner-up
Tai Tzu-ying
Beiwen Zhang
Špela Silvester
Rachel van Cutsen
Anne Hald Jensen
Olga Konon
Nicole Schaller
