The Swiss Open 2021 winner will not be travelling to Birmingham this week to compete for the All England Open due to the reason she may have revealed in her final post-match interview in Switzerland.
Through our coverage of the Swiss Open week, fans got to see the journey of European Champion, Carolina Marin, surging towards her third title of the year. With this momentum, the 2015 All England winner was one of the favourites to win the prestigious All England trophy. However, Marin on social media informed her followers that it was not to be.
The reason was first alluded to while still smiling after her much-anticipated final against Pusarla V. Sindhu. Marin put in a top performance and took just 35 minutes to win 21-12, 21-5.
-I feel really, really happy today. I think I played one of my best games. I was so focused on what I have to do against her. I managed to do what I have been training at home and it felt really good, Marin said.
I was really scared
The reigning Olympic Champion had one eye on the clock as she had a flight to catch. Winning the final so quickly was perhaps a necessity that day. When asked what one thing she will take from this week moving forward towards her upcoming challenges, she informed us that at one point there could have been no tournament at all for her.
-Actually, if I have to tell you something. On Tuesday, I thought that maybe I cannot play this tournament because I struggled with my Soleus [lower limb muscle], I thought it could be broken. I was really scared. I gave it a try to see if I can play, and ultimately, I was able to win the final.
When asked if she will have to get this injury checked out before her next tournaments, Marin responded optimistically.
-I want to keep this performance going. I am going back to Spain now and I will have five or six days before All England, so I will do my best there.
Subsequently, this was not possible, and Marin is forced to sit this one out. Despite the All England Open not holding Olympic ranking points this year, all players dream of lifting the famous trophy.
For Marin, gaining a good seeding for the Olympics is an important focus. Her only solace, therefore, is that she will not be losing ground on her rivals this week. The next World Tour tournaments that count towards the Race to Tokyo are the Orleans Masters right after the All England Open and the Malaysia Open beginning at the end of March.
Watch the full final post-match interview here.