New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu Friday wrote a touching tribute to the Spaniard Badminton Legend Carolina Marin. Marin announced her retirement from professional badminton on Thursday, saying she was still dealing with the effects of a serious injury suffered at Paris 2024. Marin won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and is a three-time world champion.Sharing an emotional message for her longtime rival, Sindhu wrote on Instagram: “Some rivals become a part of your journey forever. Carolina was one of them. We first played each other when we were 15 or 16-year-old girls in the Maldives, and we’ve shared many battles since then.“To be honest, you were an absolute pain on the court too, the constant yelling, the intensity, the little moves, anyone could get them. But your skill, speed and fighting spirit was second to none,” Sindhu wrote.Sindhu also recalled the verbal spat between the two shuttlers during the 2023 Denmark Open semi-final, where the chair umpire showed yellow cards to both the players.“People miss big matches and even in that third set we had an ugly fight about taking the shuttle. I’ll admit I was absolutely furious that day.“But a few months later we sat across from each other over coffee in Madrid, talking and laughing, and in that moment there was nothing but respect. That’s the Carolina I’ll always remember,” she wrote.“I will also be forever grateful for the incredible friendships our generation has built. Our group of girls made women’s singles a very special place to compete, and I honestly don’t know if badminton has seen anything like it before or will ever again.”“Thank you for every battle, every lesson and most of all friendship. I wish you the happiest of retirements, Carolina. Badminton will miss you. And so will I,” Sindhu concluded.Marin’s career has been plagued by serious knee injuries, forcing her to withdraw from her Olympic gold and her home world championship defense in 2021.However, she made a remarkable comeback, reaching her fourth World Championship final and edging closer to the Olympic final in 2024. Comfortably leading He Bing Jiao in her semi-final at Paris 2024, Marin collapsed in pain – a moment that proved to be her last appearance on the biggest stage.
