The Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marín, who this Friday will collect the Princess of Asturias Sports Award 2024has assured that he is “very happy” to receive the award because it “comforts” him after the serious injury suffered at the Olympic Games. of Paris, for which he still needs time.
In a press conference after his arrival in Oviedo, Marín admitted that the injury has marked an “important point” in his life and sports careerand has stated that he still needs time and that he is in “no hurry” after initially thinking about “hanging up his racket.”
The player, who has indicated that once time passes and reflects, she sees things in a “different way”, has acknowledged that she would be “very sad” if the injury took her off the court, which she will try to avoid by returning to training to being able to retire on a court.
Marín (Huelva, 1993) has been grateful for this recognition for his entire sporting careera path in which “the medals are very nice”, although it remains with “all that effort, sacrifice, a lot of work and also many renunciations that are behind to achieve great rewards, medals and dreams.”
“I have a very nice week ahead of me,” said the Huelva native, who, she assures, will never forget the moment when she walked out of the hotel doors and the bagpipes began to play.
A prize for badminton
The Olympic champion in Rio 2016, gold medal in three World Cups and seven Europeanshas confessed to feeling “very happy”, especially because the Princess of Sports is an award “not only for me, but above all also for my sport.” .
In her opinion, it was “totally unthinkable” that a Spanish girl could dominate in a “so Asian” sport, so having broken that barrier and won “has its merit,” and the Princess of Sports Award “recognizes all the merit behind it in a country like Spain, in a totally unknown and very minority sport“.
Always get something positive
About the serious knee injury he suffered at the Olympic Games. from Paris when he was about to qualify for the Olympic final, has stated that from “every difficult or negative moment” he always tries to get “something positive”, and One of the positive things about that mishap has been “being able to spend time at home with the family.”“.
Marín has especially cited her mother, who accompanied her in the press room, and her work team as the “driving engine” in the stage in which she had a “very bad time.”
A reference for the youngest
The Andalusian has defended the importance of that an athlete “enjoys what he does” and has drawn attention to the importance of having a national reference, which in his case did not exist, while currently children “can be that lucky” by having it, highlighting the values that it demonstrates “both within the as it were.”
Regarding the main qualities that a high-level badminton player needs to have, he mentioned “a lot of speed, changes of pace, resistance, and a little strength“, necessary to “eject the steering wheel to where you want to send it on the track.”
In relation to the help that psychologists provide to athletes, Marín has stated that she has been working with these professionals since she was 15, to whom she is “very grateful” because they have always taken her by the hand and taken her forward. .
