Badminton open

La Chapelle Arena: Carolina Marin, the Spanish badminton star, donned her knee brace and stepped back onto the court, signaling her contender, He Bingjiao, to resume their semifinal match. Despite her valiant efforts, after a few rallies, Marin collapsed to her knees by the sidelines, unable to continue.

In Sunday's women's singles semifinal at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Marin, who had taken the first set 21-14 and led 10-6 in the second, faced a devastating blow when a fall aggravated her knee injury. The impairment forced the three-time world champion to retire after losing another two points, reports Xinhua

This isn't Marin's first encounter with Olympic heartbreak. The Rio gold medalist had to withdraw from the Tokyo Games due to a torn knee ligament, a painful decision announced just two months before the event.