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After a spirited start to 2021 that saw her winning three titles, top seed Carolina Marin has pulled out of the All England Open, citing injury concerns.
The Rio Olympic gold medalist Marin took to Twitter to announce her absence from the upcoming BWF Super 1000 event, which begins on March 17 at Birmingham.
"Unfortunately I won't be able to play next week at the All England because of the injury I suffered during the Swiss Open. I'll be back soon!" tweeted the three-time world champion.
The 27-year-old Carolina Marin has tasted victory on the hallowed courts of the All England Open in 2015. However, she didn't want to aggravate the injury she suffered at the Swiss Open and decided to withdraw from the All England Open with it not being a Tokyo Olympic qualifier.
“Me and my team thought that it would be better to take care of the injury that I suffered during the Swiss Open...Since the All England is not part of the Olympic qualification, I want to recover fully from the injury,” Carolina Marin was quoted saying by The Times of India.
What could Carolina Marin's absence mean for PV Sindhu?
One would think the stars are beginning to align for 2019 world champion PV Sindhu, now that Carolina Marin has pulled out of the All England Open 2021. Marin has dashed Sindhu's hopes at some of the biggest tournaments.
Most notably, it was Carolina Marin who was the final obstacle in Sindhu's path in clinching an Olympic gold in 2016, whom the Indian couldn't overcome. Last week, it was Marin again, who handed the World No. 7 a comprehensive 21-12, 21-5 defeat at the Swiss Open final.
Therefore, with Marin pulling out of the All England Open 2021 and the likes of Tai Tzu Ying and Chen Yufei not there as well, the path has opened up for PV Sindhu to win the All England Open for the first time.
