What does one make of what happened this morning at Paris 2024?
There was one world champion who, arriving in Paris with a suspect knee, overcame an early setback to stand on the penultimate step of completing her resume. There was another world champion, who, having withheld his best cards all these months, has chosen this stage to reveal his hidden aces. Then there was an Olympic champion who showed what it takes to be Olympic champion, as he weathered an early storm to make his second successive final.
But amidst all this was the tragedy that played out with Carolina Marin, denying her the possibility of recapturing her gold medal won eight years ago. If the other matches had the finest elements of sport, showcasing nerve and composure in the face of tremendous pressure, Marin’s was its darker aspect, a tragedy playing out when a sporting fairytale was being composed.
Had the injury not occurred and Marin made the final, it would have been one of the greatest comebacks at elite level in badminton, after the two knee surgeries she’d been through.
The Spaniard, bustling past He Bing Jiao towards a second Olympic final, collapsed with a knee injury with the final within grasp. Until then she had been so far ahead that seemingly nothing could have stopped her. Out of the blue, while leading by a game and 10-8, Marin fell sideways, clutching her knee.
As her coach Fernando Rivas was to say: “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. It’s really cruel, this situation, how she is ending this Olympic Games. I have no words.”
Marin’s injury and retirement from the match meant that He will play world champion An Se Young, who became the first Korean since Bang Soo Hyun in 1996 in the women’s singles final.
It also means the Spaniard will be unable to play the bronze playoff, and the medal will go to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who put in a fine performance against the top-seeded Korean in the semifinals before eventually being worn out by her opponent’s sheer consistency.
An, her knee still taped up and not moving with her usual fluidity in the opening game, was able to switch to a higher gear as the match wore on.
Then there was Kunlavut Vitidsarn, setting a landmark by becoming the first Thai to medal at the Olympics. Continuing with the form he showed in the quarterfinals when he dismantled top seed Shi Yu Qi, Vitidsarn was masterly in his control of the shuttle, his defence, and select offensive forays, giving Lee Zii Jia nothing to work with.
“I can feel his confidence, his form is at a top level,” said Lee. “I tried with whatever I have but it couldn’t work very well. I’m quite disappointed that I lost the chance to be in the final, but I think tomorrow is a final for the bronze.”
The Thai acknowledged he’d bided his time since the World Championships, looking to peak for the Olympics: “I’m very happy because it’s my first time, and I can come to the final, oh wow, it’s special.
“I should be 100 per cent at the biggest tournaments. The World Tour is OK, you can get it in any year. But you cannot do that at the Olympics, because you have to wait four years. But then you will be older by four years, so it will be more difficult.”
It will thus be the world champion against the Olympic champion in the final. Viktor Axelsen felt the pressure from Lakshya Sen in the opening essay, and the Indian just about did everything but win the game. At 20-17 came the pivotal point – Sen served short, and Axelsen sensed his tension. The Dane knew exactly what he had to do to snatch the game; and although Sen did have a lead briefly in the second, the moment had been lost.
“(At 20-17) I could definitely feel he was tense,” said Axelsen. “It was a big thing for him, of course, no Indian men’s singles player has done what he’s doing at the moment, so he maybe started to think about what he was doing, and the pressure was there. I’ve been there before and I totally understand what he was going through, but that was also my chance to grab the game, and it’s not easy to do so, but I did it, and overall I’m so happy about my mental performance in there.”
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