‘My journey ends here’: Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin announces retirement from professional badminton

NEW DELHI: Rio 2016 Olympic badminton gold medallist Carolina Marin on Thursday announced her retirement at the age of 32 from professional badminton, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career.

Marin shared the news through a social media video, confirming she will skip the upcoming European Championships in her hometown, Huelva. The 32-year-old received a wild-card entry for the European Badminton Championships 2026, set for 6-12 April in Huelva.

“My journey ends here. Thank you all, because you, too, have been part of it. In this new adventure, I will carry with me the values that have accompanied me until now, and I will try to give back to society everything it has given me during this time. It has been a wonderful journey”, Carolina Marin wrote in an X post.

“I wanted us to see each other one last time on court, but I don’t want to put my body at risk for that,” said Marin. “I’ve said it many times, and I stand by my decision. I wanted my career to end in a different way, but in life, things don’t always happen as we want, and we have to accept that.”

Mi camino acaba aquí. Gracias a todos, porque también habéis formado parte de ello. En esta nueva aventura llevaré conmigo los valores que me han acompañado hasta ahora e intentaré devolver a la sociedad todo lo que me ha dado en este tiempo. Ha sido un viaje maravilloso pic.twitter.com/3aKNDo0Mc4

— Carolina Marín (@CarolinaMarin) March 26, 2026

European Badminton Championships 2026 was set to mark her comeback, since suffering a knee injury during the semi-final round of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 more than a year and a half ago.

“Deep down, I did retire on a court — in Paris 2024 — we just didn’t know it at the time,” Marin said in her farewell video. “I wanted the journey to end in Huelva, and it will. Not with a racket in my hand, but in the city where I was born, to close a circle spanning many years,” she explained.

“I will be there to give back all the energy you’ve given me over all this time and to experience an unforgettable week, because that girl who discovered badminton and wanted to win everything is now happy and returning home. I leave with my passion feeling very proud of everything I have achieved — more than the titles, for having earned the respect of the sporting world both on and off the court, and for helping badminton to be recognised, seen, and played in my country. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she concluded.

She suffered her first major injury in 2019, and in May 2021, just two months before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she tore the cruciate ligament and meniscus in her left knee. Three years later, at the Paris 2024 Games, she sustained a third rupture, from which she has yet to recover.

Marin leaves behind an extraordinary legacy, including an Olympic gold medal, three World Championship titles, and multiple European crowns. (ANI)