PARIS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Spanish badminton ace Carolina Marin has set her sights on a second Olympic gold medal and has been working hard to win it.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, the gold medal winner from Rio 2016 and former world champion, said she had completely recovered from the cruciate knee ligament operation that forced her out of the Tokyo Games.
"I feel very good and my knee hasn't given me any problems. I'm sure I'm arriving in the best form of my sporting life," assured Marin, who told a press conference that the dream of repeating on the top of the Olympic podium has driven her on through her long recovery from injury.
"Ever since I got injured, my goal has been to win another gold medal," she commented.
The Spaniard has been working at France's National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP) and her coach Fernando Rivas explained she had been through the "hardest ever" training sessions, with Marin explaining why this was important.
"We have seen through analysis that matches have become much longer. I'm an aggressive player and in the past, I could win a point with one or two attacks, but now I need four or five," said the 31-year-old, who admitted that many of her rivals are now much younger than her.
"Time passes. In 2016, my main opponents were the same age as me, but now there is quite a difference. Also, back then I was competing as the top seed and now I am the fourth," explained Marin. ■
