The Spanish Carolina Marín won the All England badminton title this Sunday for the second time in her career and nine years after doing so in 2015, after defeating the Japanese Akane Yamaguchi in the final, who retired injured in the second set . The Huelva player, fifth player in the world, was crowned after 49 minutes of play, after scoring a tight first set 26-24 and the retirement due to injury of her rival, fourth in the ranking, when the Spanish won the second by 11- 1.
The first set was very even, with minimal alternating advantages of only two goals, but Marín scored in her third option (24-26), after having saved the three chances that the Japanese had, the first asking for a review, after 39 minutes, in which the Japanese also avoided the Spanish’s first two options. The second barely lasted ten minutes, after Yamaguchi requested medical assistance for problems with his right leg and later announced his retirement, with a score of 11-1 against him.
This Sunday’s victory is Carolina’s tenth over Yamaguchi, who already won in Birmingham in 2022 and who today faced his second consecutive final after having lost in France last week. It is also the second for the 30-year-old Spaniard in the prestigious Birmingham tournament, adding to the one achieved in 2015. To reach today’s final, Marín first beat the Taiwanese Sung Shuo Yun, in the round of 16, China’s Wang Zhi Yi, in the quarterfinals, and China’s Chen Yu Fei, world number two and current Olympic champion, in the semifinals yesterday.
Three-time world champion (2014, 2015 and 2018) and six-time European champion (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022), Marín has been able to celebrate her first Super 1000 title on the World circuit at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. this year, a week after his hasty goodbye in France in the first phase. With just over four months until the Paris 2024 Games, the Spaniard has on her near horizon the Swiss Open next week, the Madrid Master, from March 26 to 31, and the European Championship in Saarbrucken (Germany). ) from April 8 to 14.
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