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What's the story?
Spanish badminton superstar and reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin announced her withdrawal from the season-ending Dubai World Superseries Finals with a post on Twitter on Tuesday.
She stated that she has been forced to pull out from the competition due to a hip injury and also vowed to keep fighting and come back stronger.
In case you didn't know
The season-ending championships feature the top eight shuttlers in the five categories in the Destination Dubai Rankings over the course of the season. However, only two shuttlers or pairs are allowed from a single nation in one category.
The heart of the matter
The current World No. 4 had a fine 2017, which saw her reach the finals of Superseries tournaments on four occasions. She finished runners-up thrice -- in India, Malaysia and Singapore, where she lost to PV Sindhu in Delhi and the remaining two to Tai Tzu Ying. However, she did come up trumps in the Japan Open, where she defeated China's He Bingjiao in the final.
She is the second high-profile shuttler in the women's singles draw to have pulled out, with Japanse star Nozomi Okuhara announcing her absence earlier this week. The Spaniard is now expected to be replaced by Sayaka Sato, who finished in 10th place in the Destination Dubai Rankings.
The women's singles lineup now reads -- Tai Tzu Ying, Akane Yamaguchi, Ratchanok Intanon, Sung Ji Hyun, PV Sindhu, He Bingjiao, Chen Yufei and Sayaka Sato.
What's next?
The competition begins on December 13 and promises to offer some fantastic action given the quality of shuttlers on display. For Marin, the question remains whether she can recover in time for the Premier Badminton League, which starts at the end of this month.
Author's take
It is indeed disheartening to see a top athlete like Marin withdraw just before an important tournament. She is one of the biggest icons in the sport and her absence will be a huge loss for fans!
