PARIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Fernando Rivas, coach of Carolina Marin, said the Spanish badminton player was "heartbroken" after a knee injury forced her out of her semifinal against China's He Bingjiao, when it looked as if she was in touching distance of at least a silver medal.
Marin had won the first set 21-14 and led 10-6 in the second when she collapsed in agony after injuring her right knee.
The gold medalist from Rio 2016 and three-time world champion, who failed to defend her Olympic title in Tokyo after breaking ligaments in her left knee, was unable to continue and left the court in tears.
Speaking to the Spanish media afterwards, her coach explained that "Carolina is heartbroken... She knows you can win or lose in the Olympic Games, but not this way," he commented.
"I think it is very unfair and very cruel and we don't have words to say how we feel at the moment," continued Rivas, who added the 31-year-old "looked up at me from the floor and said, I'm broken."
"It's a feeling she already knows," he said in reference to Marin's former knee injuries, and he implied that the problem could end her career.
"She said that it wasn't fair and that she didn't want to end her career in this way," commented Rivas.
Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, posted a message on social media for Marin "you are and you always will be a champion. All of Spain is behind you," he wrote. ■
