Carolina Marín

Carolina María Marín Martín (born 15 June 1993) is a Spanish badminton player. She is an Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion, and eight-time European Champion. She once held the No. 1 BWF World Ranking in women's singles for a total of 66 weeks. She has won the World Championships in 2014, 2015, and 2018, becoming the second women's singles player after Han Aiping to win the title three times. Marín is the only player in history to win at least seven gold medals in a single discipline of any continental championship (individual events), having won every European Championships title since 2014, and a European Games title in 2023. She also won the Olympic gold medal in women's singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, thereby becoming the only non-Asian female player to win a badminton gold medal at the Olympics.

Marín was appointed as the brand ambassador of football major LaLiga and Meliá Hotels International for its promotion in other countries. In 2024, Marín was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.

Early life

Marín was a keen flamenco dancer in her childhood. After a friend introduced her to badminton, she fell in love with the sport and decided to stop dancing and play badminton wholeheartedly. At the age of eight, she started playing badminton at the IES La Orden in Huelva. She had to leave her hometown and her family at a very young age to travel all the way to Madrid for training at the National Centre.

Career

2009–2012: First international title and European Junior Champions

In 2009, she became the first Spanish badminton player to win a silver medal first, at the European Junior Championships, and also in the same year, won the gold medal at the European U-17 Junior Championships. She won her first major title at the Irish International tournament coming through the qualification stage and beating the Dutch player Rachel Van Cutsen in the final in the rubber game.

In 2011, she alongside her teammate, Beatriz Corrales, made history for the Spanish badminton, after placing two representatives of Spain in the final at the continental European Junior Championships held in Vantaa, Finland, and Marín grabbed the gold medal. She also competed at the World Junior Championships in Taipei, reaching the semi-finals, but lost to Elisabeth Purwaningtyas of Indonesia and settled for the bronze medal.

2012 London Olympics
she attended her first ever Olympics and lost in the round robin to Li Xue Rui 21-13 21-11

2013–2014: First Grand Prix title, European and World Champions

In 2013, she became the first Spanish badminton player to win a Grand Prix Gold title after winning the London Grand Prix Gold. In August, Marín played for the Bangalore-based team Banga Beats in the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League (IBL). In April, she won her first European Championships title.

On 31 August 2014, she defeated Li Xuerui of China in the World Championships women's singles final and became the first Spaniard to win a World Championship title and the third European female player to achieve the gold medal, after Lene Køppen (1977) and Camilla Martin (1999). At the age of 21, she became the youngest European that won the World Championships ever.

2015: Five Superseries title, second World Championships and World #1

In 2015, she won the All England Open, her first Superseries Premier title in her first Superseries Premier final after defeating Saina Nehwal in the final with score 16–21, 21–14, 21–7. The title propelled her to rank number 4 in the world ranking and, for the first time, no. 1 in the Superseries standing. At India Open, she had the chance to unseat Li Xuerui as the new world no. 1, however, she narrowly lost to Thai prodigy Ratchanok Intanon in a close three games at the semi-finals stage. She rose to a career-high as world no. 2 in the world ranking on 2 April.

On 5 April, Marín won her second straight Superseries Premier title, beating Olympic champion Li Xuerui for the second consecutive time at the 2015 Malaysia Open with a score of 19–21, 21–19, 21–17. In August, she defended her title at the World Championship by beating Saina Nehwal of India in 21–16, 21–19. 2015 was the golden year for Marín, where in addition to defending the World Championships title, she also won other Superseries titles such as the Australian Open, French Open, and Hong Kong Open.

2016: Olympics gold

In August, she represented her country at the Rio Olympics. She arrived at Rio as the number one seed and won a gold medal by beating India's P. V. Sindhu in the women's singles final with a score of 19–21, 21–12, 21–15. She made history by becoming the first non-Asian to win the Olympic badminton women's singles gold medal. An indoor arena in Huelva is named after her honour, with Marín herself attending the inauguration.

2017–2018: Fourth European and Third World Championships title

In 2017, Marín won the Japan Open Superseries title after beating He Bingjiao of China in the final, winning a Superseries title after almost two years. At the Hong Kong Open, which took place in late November, Marín retired to Michelle Li, losing 21–19, 13–21, 8–11, due to a hip injury that she sustained during the match. Marín later announced on Twitter and Instagram that, due to her hip injury, she would not be participating in the season-ending Dubai World Superseries Finals.

On 29 April 2018, she won her fourth consecutive European Championships title in her home soil Huelva, Spain, by beating Evgeniya Kosetskaya with a score of 21–15, 21–7 in the final. On 5 August, she won the title in the World Championships by defeating P. V. Sindhu of India in straight games 21–19, 21–10, making her the first female player in history to win three World Championships titles. In September, she won World Tour titles at the Japan and China Open.

2019–2020: ACL injury and comeback

Marín began her 2019 season with a runner-up effort at the Malaysia Masters, where she lost to Ratchanok Intanon in straight games. On 27 January, Marín suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the Indonesia Masters final against Saina Nehwal, when she was 10–3 ahead in the first games. Marín subsequently retired from the match and underwent ACL reconstruction surgery the same day as soon as she arrived back in Madrid. She had a four-month recovery, dedicating ten hours a day to physical and technical rehabilitation, with morning and afternoon physiotherapy sessions, and swimming pool work.

In September, after an eight-month break forced by the injury, Marín returned to competition at the 2019 Vietnam Open but suffered an opening-round defeat to Supanida Katethong. However, she rebounded and won the China Open on 22 September, defeating Tai Tzu-ying in the finals with a score of 14–21, 21–17, 21–18. This was Marín's first title of the season, which she followed with the semi-finals at the Denmark Open, where she was defeated in three tight games by Nozomi Okuhara. She reached the final of the French Open next week, where she was defeated by Korean youngster An Se-young in three games 21–16, 18–21, 5–21. Her achievements in the last three tournaments succeeded in bringing her back into the world top 10 of BWF women's singles ranking. She further won Syed Modi and Italian International tournaments later in the year.

Marín started the 2020 season at the Southeast Asian tour on a positive note; reaching the semi-finals of Malaysia Masters where she lost to Chen Yufei. A week later, she then reached the final of the Indonesia Masters, where she narrowly missed the title after getting defeated from Ratchanok Intanon in three games 19–21, 21–11, 18–21. She continued her good form and thereafter reached the semi-finals of Thailand Masters, which she lost to top seed Akane Yamaguchi in a close rubber game. In February, she reached the final of her home event Barcelona Spain Masters, where she lost in an upset to rising Thai star Pornpawee Chochuwong in the rubber games 21–11, 16–21, 18–21. In March, she competed as 8th seeds in the All England Open, but stopped by the eventual champion Tai Tzu-ying in the semi-finals.

In July, Marín's father died following an accident in February. She reached the final of the Denmark Open in October for the very first time but was defeated by Okuhara in straight games.

2021–2022: Sixth European Championships title

Marín won the first title of the year, the Thailand Open Super 1000 event, by beating World no. 1 Tai Tzu-ying in two comfortable games. She didn't lose any game in the whole tournament. Continuing her scintillating form, she won the second edition of Thailand Open, the Toyota Thailand Open, also a super 1000 event by beating Tai yet again. In contesting her first-ever World Tour Finals final, she lost to same rival Tai in three games after failing to capitalize her lead in the final game. She won her first world tour title in Switzerland by beating reigning World champion P. V. Sindhu with a very dominating display, winning 21–12, 21–5. Marín planned to compete at the All England Open but pulled out of the competition due to an injury she suffered in the first round of the Swiss Open.

Marín made history as the first-ever player to claim five consecutive titles at the European Championships, defeating young Dane Line Christophersen in the final. She was expected to defend her title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but was forced to withdraw due to knee injury she suffered in June while training.

In 2022, 11 months after Marín second ACL injury, she won her sixth European Championships title. Her best result in the 2022 BWF World Tour was reaching the French Open final, but lost the match to He Bingjiao in a close rubber games.

2023: Silver medals at World Championships and World Tour Finals, return to top 5

Marín began 2023 at the Malaysia Open, the first Super 1000 event of the year, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Chen Yufei in two close games. She repeated this result at the India Open, falling to Akane Yamaguchi in three games. At the Indonesia Masters, Marín reached her first final in nearly two years. She faced world number two An Se-young in a three-game match lasting 80 minutes, ultimately losing. In March, Marín reached the quarter-finals of All England Open Championship but withdrew due to injury, giving An Se-young a walkover. She returned home for the Spain Masters, reaching the semi-finals before being defeated by Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in three games. Marín claimed her first title in over two years at the Orléans Masters, a Super 300 event, after defeating Beiwen Zhang in a three-game final.

In June, Marín faced world number one An Se-young in the Thailand Open semi-finals, losing in straight games. The Singapore Open marked the first time in 2023 that she failed to reach a tournament quarter-finals as she lost to Supanida Katethong in the second round. However, She rebounded at the Indonesia Open, a Super 1000 event, defeating Goh Jin Wei, Yeo Jia Min, Tai Tzu-ying, and Ratchanok Intanon to reach the final. There, she lost again to Chen Yufei with an 18–21, 19–21 scoreline, mirroring their Malaysia Open match result. Marín capped off June by representing Spain at the European Games, winning her first gold medal in the tournament with a straight-game victory over Mia Blichfeldt.

Entering the World Championships taking place in Denmark as the sixth seed, Marín exceeded expectations as she defeated top-four players Tai Tzu-ying and Akane Yamaguchi en route to her fourth World Championship final. There, she lost in straight games to top-seeded An Se-young, earning a silver medal. In September, she reached the quarter-finals of both the China and Hong Kong Opens.

In October, Marín's strong year-to-date performance saw her return to the world number five ranking. She reached the final of the Denmark Open, with a notable quarter-finals win over Tai Tzu-ying, there she lost to Chen Yufei in straight games. This semi-finals was marked by her tension with P.V. Sindhu over shuttle post-rally returns and screams, resulting in yellow cards for both players; both players later publicly apologised and reconciled. At the French Open, Marín suffered an upset loss to Aya Ohori in the quarter-finals. Further results included reaching the quarter-finals of the Japan Masters and early upset in the China Masters to unseeded Nguyễn Thùy Linh. Marín's world tour ranking of number four qualified her for the $2.5-million-prized year-end World Tour Finals. She won all her round-robin matches without dropping a game, including a notable win over Chen Yufei. After defeating Chen again in a three-game, 104-minute semi-finals, Marín reached her first-ever World Tour Finals final. She finished as runner-up after losing to Tai Tzu-ying in three games. In 2023, she earned $257,335 in prize money, making her the year's fourteenth highest-earning badminton player.

2024: All England title, seventh European Championships title, return to top 3

Marín began 2024 by opting out of BWF tournaments in January and February, citing continued recovery from injuries. Her return to competition was at the European Women's Team Championships as part of the Spain's national team. Despite Marín's individual victories over Kirsty Gilmour and Line Kjærsfeldt in the semi-finals and finals, respectively, her team finished as runners-up in the tournament, which was by far the best result for Spain's national team. In March, Marín experienced an early exit at the French Open, losing to Beiwen Zhang in the opening round. However, she rebounded at the prestigious All England Open. En route to the final, she had notable victories over Wang Zhiyi, Chen Yufei, and Tai Tzu-ying. In her final match against Akane Yamaguchi, Marín secured a hard-fought victory in the first game (26–24) and was leading 11–1 in the second game when Yamaguchi retired due to injury, granting Marín her second All England title after a nine-year interval. In the following week, Marín extended her winning streak by clinching her second title of the year, the Swiss Open title, thus becoming the oldest women's singles player in 16 years to achieve this feat, following Zhang Ning's triumph in 2007. In the quest for her second Swiss Open title, she defeated Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a hard fought final, with a scoreline of 21–19, 13–21, 22–20.

In April, Marín successfully defended her European Championships title without dropping a game throughout the whole tournament. This achievement helped Marín become the only player in badminton history to win at least seven gold medals at a single discipline (women's singles) of any continental championship, as she has won the European Championships consecutively since 2014. With 9,200 points gained from winning the championship, Marín returned to world's no. 3 for the first time in over three years (since March 2021). In June, entering Indonesia Open as the third seed, Marín overpowered Zhang Yiman, Hsu Wen-chi, and Han Yue with straight wins before losing to Chen Yufei after three games in the semi-finals. Marín then decided to skip all the tournaments leading up to the Olympics in order to focus on the preparations of this paramount event.

Entering the Olympics as the fourth seed, Marín advanced effortlessly through the group stage with straight wins against unseeded players Jenjira Stadelmann and Rachael Darragh. In the round of 16, she defeated the ninth seed Beiwen Zhang in three games to advance to the quarter-finals, where she secured a straight-games victory over the eighth seed Aya Ohori. At 31, Marín became the second oldest women's singles player to reach an Olympic semi-final, where she faced the sixth seed He Bingjiao. Marín won the first game 21-14 and was leading 10-5 in the second game when she sustained a serious knee injury following a bad landing from an overhead smash, causing her to collapse. Despite the injury, she played on with a knee brace on and conceded two more points before retiring from the match due to limited mobility. Due to the injury, Marín was unable to compete in the bronze medal match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Women's singles''

World Championships

''Women's singles''

European Games

''Women's singles''

European Championships

''Women's singles''

BWF World Junior Championships

''Girls' singles''

European Junior Championships

''Girls' singles''

BWF World Tour (10 titles, 12 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

''Women's singles''

BWF Superseries (6 titles, 4 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

''Women's singles''

: BWF Superseries Finals tournament
: BWF Superseries Premier tournament
: BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

''Women's singles''

: BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
: BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (9 titles, 5 runners-up)

''Women's singles''

: BWF International Challenge tournament
: BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

National team

* ''Senior level''

Individual competitions

* ''Junior level''

* ''Senior level''

Career overview

The table below gives the overview of Carolina Marín performance data in singles and doubles.

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 24 November 2024.

Books

*with Fernando Rivas: ''Gana el partido de tu vida''. Editorial Planeta, 2016
*''#Puedo porque pienso que puedo''. Harper Collins, 2020

References

External links

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Carolina Marín
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

Carolina María Marín – COE – Paris 2024

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Carolina Marín – Season 1
– Prime Video

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marin, Carolina
1993 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Huelva
Spanish female badminton players
Badminton players at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Badminton players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Olympic badminton players for Spain
Olympic gold medalists for Spain
Olympic medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Badminton players at the 2023 European Games
European Games gold medalists for Spain
European Games medalists in badminton
World No. 1 badminton players
Saint Anthony Catholic University of Murcia alumni
21st-century Spanish sportswomen