Marin Makes a Comeback at the Vietnam Open

228 Days, over 32 Weeks, and 8 ½ Months – whichever way you were to look at it, this was a long injury layoff – and just as much as the physical strain, there was the emotional and mental aspect of it to consider. Carolina Marin – the reigning Olympic Champion is as tough as you get on the BWF Badminton Tour but even for the mighty that kind of an injury layoff – especially in the prime of the career – is a hard to handle.

Back in January, as she contested for the crown at the Daihatsu Indonesia Masters, leading in the opening game against Saina Nehwal of India she went for an overhead shot and landed rather awkwardly. And that awkward landing, was a crash landing of sorts - not just for her title hopes but also for the rest of the season ahead.  She had injured the anterior cruciate ligament of her right knee. 

The prognosis didn’t look too promising, as doctors predicted she would be out of action for at least six months. She underwent a surgery to repair her ACL on the 29th of January and since then it has been a long, arduous, often challenging and ever so difficult time of recovery & rehabilitation.

And yet, Marin true to her effervescent self, has remained extremely open and positive right through these months. She kept her fans informed of her frequent progress, took time off indulge herself in various off court activities while going through the rehabilitation regime.

During the course of her recovery, she saw herself slide down the world rankings, her opponents rack up some impressive wins, and the small matter of the Olympic Qualifications kicking off in May. But nothing seemed to have deterred the leftie from Huelva, Spain. She has been effusive in her praise of her opponents, a case in point being her fulsome congratulatory message she posted for World Champion PV Sindhu, after her victory at the BWF World Championships.

The fact that Marin was able to see the brighter side of things, be able to celebrate for her on-court opponents/off-court friends, and keep up a smile through some of the darkest times in her career, defines her for the champion that she really is!

So then, finally she is back where she truly belongs – the badminton court – and even in her first-round defeat against Supanida Kathethong showed, what a fighter, the women’s game has missed since January. Clocking an impressive 48-minutes on court, Carolina fought for every point – as she always does, and only narrowly missed out in registering a win.

But then, today was hardly about the result, or even the score-line for that matter. Today was just about seeing this champion player take the court. After all, there are some moments where results take a backseat, and today was one such occasion.

And yet, try telling that to Carolina, and she would have none of it. She knew she was in it to win it, and would be gutted that she couldn’t put it across the line. For her fans tough, the victories will surely come, for now they’re just too thrilled to see the Spanish sensation back on the court.