Former Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain was left inconsolable, as she broke down in tears during her women's singles badminton semifinal after injuring her right knee. Marin, who was leading the match 21-14, 10-6 against He Bing Jiao of China, was forced to withdraw from the match after falling awkwardly on her right knee on Sunday.

The incident happened during the second game of the semifinal match, where she jumped to execute a return shot on her backhand side, and ended up awkwardly on the court on her right foot. She burst into tears immediately after falling down on the court. She was quickly helped by a medical staff as Marin was left tearful and put on a knee brace. 

She returned shortly after to continue the match and played two for more points, both of which she lost, before she limped her way to one side of the court and wept inconsolably as she slammed the mat.

Marin, who clinched the gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, beating India's PV Sindhu in the final, missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics owing to a knee injury. The Paris Games could be her final Olympic appearance. It is yet to be seen if Marin will return for the bronze-medal face-off.

He Bing Jao, who was left shocked at what unfolded at the La Chapelle Arena hugged Marin after the Spaniard was forced to retire and later joined the crowd to stand up and clap for the former champion. The Chinese shuttler will next face Korean Republic's An Se Young in the final of the competition. An beat Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in the day's earlier semi-final.

A clearly uncomfortable He told reporters that she felt "very sad" about what had happened. "She was playing perfectly well and I was very passive," said He. "I wasn't thinking about the final at all."

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