Skip to main content

Badminton: Marin targets more success at S'pore Open


Carolina Marin has achieved all her sporting ambitions as listed on her profile page on the Badminton World Federation website - "Get a medal at the Olympic Games, be a World Champion and European Champion, and to become world No. 1."

Yet when asked if she has any other ambitions to seek, the 23-year-old's answer came without hesitation: "More."

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday on the sidelines of the Primera Liga's launch of their regional hub office here, the Spaniard said: "(I just want) to get more and more - more tournaments and titles."

The world No. 4's pursuit of "more" will continue at next month's OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

She was the top-ranked player at last year's edition, but fell to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 13-21, 21-18, 21-18 in the quarter-finals.

Marin will enter this year's tournament as an Olympic champion, following her triumph at the 2016 Rio Games, yet insisted she feels no additional pressure as she bids to win her first Singapore Open crown.


Badminton world No. 4 Carolina Marin’s burning desire to win puts her among the favourites at the OUE Singapore Open in April. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
"The pressure... it's about how you control it, so now I don't feel any pressure because there are top players coming," she said.

"Any of the top 10 players in the world rankings can win this tournament; I'll just prepare myself in the best way I can and do my best on court."

The women's singles field at the Singapore Open features a strong slate with the likes of world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei and No. 2 Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea - formidable roadblocks along Marin's route to the title.

Marin, who won the World Championships in 2014 and 2015, shies away from naming her strongest competitors, saying: "I always say that the biggest opponent is myself because I know if I do my best, I can be a really tough opponent for everyone."

With this assessment of herself, it is little wonder that the Huelva native's idol is tennis star and compatriot Rafael Nadal, who is deemed by his rivals as one of the sport's toughest competitors thanks to his relentless counter-punching style and sheer mental strength .

While Marin and Nadal have plenty in common - both are Olympic champions, for one - they differ in football allegiances: the latter is a Real Madrid fan, while Marin supports their bitter rivals, FC Barcelona.

"For me the best football player is (Barcelona midfielder Andres) Iniesta, because I like his personality. He seems like a very humble and nice person," she added.

"I haven't met him face-to-face, but I've seen how he talks from social media and watched how he plays - I really like him."

While badminton is not as popular as football and tennis in Spain, Marin is viewed as a trail blazer in her country, and believes the sport will grow in time.

Referring to her Olympic victory, she added: "Now in Spain everyone recognises me and I feel very happy because everyone in Spain knows about badminton, so I feel like a lucky person to (be able to) show the sport to my country.

"I hope there will be more champions from Spain."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Youth Cup : Chelsea 7 :Tottenham 1

In front of over 3,300 supporters at Stamford Bridge, Jody Morris’s side led 3-0 by half-time after a brace from Ike Ugbo and a close-range finish from Trevoh Chalobah. Jared Thompson had also saved a penalty in an eventful first period and the drama continued after the restart as we raced into a 8-1 aggregate lead with goals from Dujon Sterling, Callum Hudson-Odoi and another from Ugbo. Spurs pulled one back through Jack Roles but it was going to have little impact on the result and Juan Castillo rounded off the scoring as the contest finished 7-1 on the night, 9-2 on aggregate. Morris made two changes from the first leg win at the Lane as Thompson replaced Jamie Cumming in goal and George McEachran came into the side in place of schoolboy Hudson-Odoi. Thompson was protected by an unchanged back three as Josh Grant, Chalobah and Reece James lined up across the defence, while Castillo and Sterling continued to operate as wing-backs. Jacob Maddox partnered Tariq Uwakwe in cent...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuki Bhambri stuns defending champion Gael Monfils at ATP Citi Open

Yuki Bhambri stunned the tennis world when he defeated ATP Citi Open champion Gael Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Yuki Bhambri had set up the second round clash with world number 22 and defending champion Gael Monfils after his first round opponent had to retire. With this win, Bhambri, who is ranked at 200, has qualified for the pre-quarterfinals. It may be recalled here that before facing Monfils, Bhambri had said while speaking to the PTI, “It’s a good test. We fight and work to play these kinds of matches and compete against the best, so it’s a good opportunity,” and added, “He is the defending champion and a class player. I have nothing to lose,” said the 25-year-old Delhi lad. Bhambri has had a lot of ups and down in his career but this win certainly ranks among the highest. However, one of his main issues has been injury concerns. Earlier, addressing the concern, Bhambri had said, “It hasn’t been ideal, yes. It’s difficult to sit on the sidelines, but I am in recovery, working wit...
1 comment
Read more

Utah gymnastics: Utes enjoy down time before ramping up again for Regionals

Members of Utah's gymnastics team will get back to work in the coming days to prepare for the NCAA regionals on April 1 after a few days of rest and light work to let their bodies recover. The fourth-ranked Utes are the top seed in the Fayetteville, Ark., regional, where they will compete against No. 9 Denver, No. 16 Cal, No. 21 Auburn, No. 27 Arkansas and No. 28 Central Michigan. The Utes, who won the Pac-12 title with a season-high 197.925, continue to put their focus on clean landings, the one area in which they feel they can improve, Utah co-coach Megan Marsden said. The Utes are using practice competitions and other means to focus on the landings. "They enjoy competition among themselves, and it helps to have a reason and purpose at this point in the year to keep it fresh," Marsden said. The good news is the Utes feel they can focus on the details because their training has been solid throughout the season. If anything, the coaches are toeing the line bet...
Post a Comment
Read more