March 26 (Reuters) - Three-time world champion and former Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin, who had to pull out of her semi-final at the Paris Games due to a knee injury, announced her retirement on Thursday.
The 32-year-old Spaniard had planned to return to competition at the European Championships in her birthplace Huelva next month.
"I'd have liked for us to see each other one last time on court, but I don't want to put my body at risk for that," Marin said in a video on Instagram.
"Deep down, I did retire on court, in Paris in 2024. We just didn't know it at the time."
Marin won the World Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2018, and beat India's PV Sindhu in the 2016 final to become the first non-Asian to win the Olympic gold medal in women's singles.
"Marin has enjoyed a unique career, marked by success, ambition and a determination to excel that has inspired entire generations," the Spanish Badminton Federation (FESBA) said in a statement.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
