Despite having badminton stars from all around the world, the moment that the home crowd had been waiting for arrived today. After a match-up between Spanish teammates and clubmates Ania Setien and Clara Azurmendi in which the latter won to advance on to the next round, it was time for Spain’s number one to step on court.

Is Marín here to win? “Actually, I’m here to enjoy with the home crowd. Of course, I want to give my best, and I want to keep improving on court. I’ll just go game by game,” replied the six-time European champion.

This Super 300 tournament is obviously special for Marin not just because this is the same venue where she won the title in the 2022 European Championships but also because of the great support and cheering from the Spanish fans.

“I feel really happy to be here. It’s so special every time when I play in Spain and when I have my home crowd. This kind of support is important because I don’t play many times here in Spain and when I do, I try to enjoy on court and give my best.”

Today, the Spaniard played against Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, an opponent that she has faced a total of 13 times before — having won 12 times and losing in their last encounter in the Malaysia Open 2022. 

“I have to be ready for every match when I play against Line or any other opponent. Today, it was really important to control the shuttle. It was really fast. I just have to keep my focus on what I had to do,” said Marin on facing Kjaersfeldt today.

Marin won the match 21-14 21-11. Tomorrow, she will be facing India’s Malvika Bansod, an opponent she has never met before. The Spanish star had to pull out of the All England due to being sick with the flu and despite not feeling that she’s back at her 100%, Marin is confident that she is still ready to fight for the title on home soil that would mean so much to her.

“The first thing was to recover. Coming back from the flu is not the best feeling but I’m actually getting better. I’m not in my 100% just yet, but I can do well here.”