Cruel blow for Carolina as tearful Spaniard limps out of Olympics

It's awful: Spain's Carolina Marin suffers an injury as she plays against China's He Bingjiao during their women's singles badminton semi-final match at the Olympics. - AP

PETALING JAYA: Spain's Carolina Marin was dealt a cruel blow when she was forced to retire from her semi-final match against China's He Bingjiao in the Paris Olympics after suffering a knee injury.

Marin, who captured gold in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, won the first game 21-14 and was leading 10-6 in the second game when she landed awkwardly and hurt her right knee.

The 31-year-old tried to wear a knee brace and continued but was forced to throw in the towel after losing two points as she continued to struggle to move on court.

It was a sad end to Marin's campaign after she fought back from two knee surgeries to play in the Olympics.

Bingjiao will now take on South Korea's world and Asian champion An Se-young in the final.

The Korean fought hard to beat Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in the other last four match. Gregoria has assured Indonesia's sole bronze medal as the third-place playoff will not be played on Monday.