Carolina Marin‘s bid for a comeback gold medal is over after the Rio 2016 champion was forced to retire during her women’s singles semifinal today.

The 31-year-old Spaniard had returned from two career-threatening ACL injuries since winning Olympic gold eight years ago only for heartbreak to strike once again in Paris.

Marin had stormed into the last four and was one game up and leading 10-8 in the second against He Bing Jiao when she collapsed to the floor in agony after reaching for a regulation return on her right-hand side. Her coach Fernando Rivas, wearing a worried look, immediately rushed to her aid. He’s coach Xia Xuanze was equally concerned, urging his player to check if Marin was okay.

Play was stopped and Marin received medical treatment only for the Spaniard to decide to play on with a knee brace. However, she visibly struggled and managed just two further rallies before sinking to her knees in tears, accepting the inevitable.

“She looked at me and she said, ‘It’s broken’,” he said. “It’s a feeling she knows, and if she’s telling me that, then it’s true.

“It goes beyond sports. I’ve been coaching Carolina for 16 years, so she’s like my daughter. I’m hurt beyond badminton. This is the least important thing at the moment.”

After several minutes lying face down, surrounded by her team and a concerned He, a sobbing Marin refused the offer of a wheelchair, hobbled out of the arena and left the venue an hour later on crutches, with heavy strapping to her right knee.

“It’s not fair for her, she’s been a warrior and she’s been working very hard to get back to a world class level,” Rivas added.

“She was really healthy, she was in shape, she was really determined to win the gold medal. I’m really proud of her journey, her determination, her resilience. I’m sure now she doesn’t feel that way, but she will feel proud of herself in the future.”

He now advances to Monday’s women’s singles final against world champion An Se Young, although not in the manner she would have wanted.

“I feel very sad about this,” He said. “She (Marin) told me she was having problems with her ankle and still managed to win (her previous matches) with this. I hope she will recover quickly and get back to playing again.”