Carolina Marin downs Tai Tzu Ying to win China Open
Spaniard Carolina Marin grabbed the prestigious China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament title on Sunday. The 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist overcame Tai Tzu Ying in only her second competitive appearance since suffering a career-threatening knee injury earlier this year. This is a big moment for Marin in her illustrious career. Here are more details on the same.
Marin enjoys a stellar victory against Tai
It was a rather emotional moment for the 26-year-old Spaniard, who had suffered a ACL tear during the Indonesia Masters Final against Saina Nehwal in January. Marin showed class to fight from a game down to beat Tai 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 in an hour and five minutes. She could not hold back her tears following the victory to show what this moment meant.
Marin defends China Open title to add more glory
This was her second successive China Open title as she became the first ever non-Chinese women's singles player to defend this trophy. This was her third career BWF World Tour title. Marin has also pocketed six BWF Superseries titles, besides winning eight BWF International series and two BWF Grand Prix honors. She has also won four European and three World Championships golds.
Marin battles past uncertainty
Marin has had a difficult time with the injury. She had returned to international action at the Vietnam Open last week. Prior to that, she pulled out of the World Championships at the last minute. In Vietnam, the 26-year-old lost in the opening round against Thailand's Supanida Katethong in straight games. This saw question marks arise over her overall physical condition.
Marin comes back strongly to deny her opponent
Marin defeated the likes of Nozomi Okuhara, He Bingjiao and Japan's Sayaka Takahashi to make it to the final. In the finale, she lost her rhythm initially to surrender the first game. However, she changed her tactics and drew her opponent in playing long rallies. The next two games were closely fought but Marin prevailed in the end. It was a solid show.
Marin is slated to play Korea Open next
Marin will hope to build on this show and make her presence felt next week at the Korea Open. Marin is slated to play a tough opponent in the form Chen Yufei in the opening round.
