We all saw Carolina Marin’s fierce determination and fighting prowess when she locked horns with India’s PV Sindhu in the badminton women’s singles final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Despite strong resistance from the Indian, the Spanish World No. 1 and two-time world champion held her nerve to create history at the mega quadrennial Games, as she became the first Spaniard to take badminton gold.
But there’s another side of Marin which we can totally relate to – that of being star-struck by her compatriot Rafael Nadal. The 23-year-old has long confessed that she considers the 14-time Grand Slam champion her idol and now, in the entertaining video clip above, has revealed the full extent of her fandom.
Both play their respective sports with their left hands and are known for their never-say-die attitude on court. It is thus not a surprise that the girl from Huelva looks up to the Mallorcan great.
In the aforementioned video that was published by the Olympic Channel recently, the Spanish queen bares her heart in a fun interaction with her fans. When she was asked which celebrity she wants to go to dinner with, she did not hesitate in picking the name of the former World No. 1 tennis superstar.
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Carolina explained that Rafa is her hero before adding, “He is the mirror I look into because I think we have the same competitive and fighting spirit and we never give up on anything.”
Another fan asked her which famous athlete she would like to compete against in a game of badminton. No prizes for guessing whom she selected!
Yes, it was the one and only Rafael Nadal yet again. She added with a mischievous smile that she would invite Rafa for the game because the nine-time French Open winner does not like badminton as he finds the sport very tough.
Marin is very open about her affection and respect for the tennis star, just like the rest of us. In April last year, she met Rafa in person for the first time at the Madrid Masters. After that, the overjoyed fangirl even put up a ‘thank you’ note on Twitter.
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“Today has been an important day for me because I finally got to meet Rafa Nadal. Thanks for letting me meet you,” she had written.
Incidentally, Marin and Nadal both won gold medals at Rio this year. While Marin became the women’s singles badminton champion, her hero scooped up his second career gold medal – this time in men’s doubles – to add to his Beijing singles gold.
That surely must have delighted Marin, the sworn Rafa admirer, to no bounds!
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