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Paris Olympics 2024: China’s He Bingjiao on the podium after wining the silver medal (AP)
He Bingjiao brought along a Spanish flag for the injured Carolina Marin as she climbed up to accept the silver medal at Paris Olympics.
South Korea’s An Se-young beat He Bingjiao of China 21-13 21-16 to capture the badminton women’s singles Olympic gold medal at the Port de La Chapelle Arena on Monday.
He Bingjiao though had a special something in her hands as he climbed up to accept the silver medal. A Spanish flag.
ALSO WATCH | Carolina Marin Breaks Into Tears After ACL Injury Forces Her to Withdraw from Semi-final
Carolina Marin retired from her Paris Olympics badminton semi-final on Sunday injured and in floods of tears, triggering an outpouring of sympathy from Spanish sports stars and celebrities.
The Spaniard won women’s singles gold at Rio 2016 and was on track to reach the final again but collapsed midway through the second game against China’s He Bingjiao after her knee buckled in distressing scenes.
Coaches and He rushed to her side as she lay on the ground for several minutes, clutching her leg.
The 31-year-old eventually got up and walked gingerly off court, then resumed wearing a support.
But she could barely move, losing the next two points before falling to the ground again, clearly in great pain, and sobbing uncontrollably.
With the match over, she refused the use of a wheelchair and limped out of the arena to thunderous applause from the Paris crowd, a few of whom were moved to tears by her plight.
Indonesia’s Gregoria Tunjung took bronze by default as her would-be opponent, Spain’s Carolina Marin, was forced to retire midway through her women’s singles semi-final against China’s He on Sunday with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
“We met in the medical centre after the matches,” Tunjung said, adding that Marin congratulated her. “Carolina said her condition was very bad.
“I hope she can continue playing badminton.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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