World Badminton Championships 2017: "I am in better shape now than at Rio Olympics," says Carolina Marin

What’s the story?

With just three days to go for the BWF World Championships 2017 to begin on August 21, defending champion Carolina Marin has sent warnings to the rest of the field by claiming that she is in better shape than what she was at the Rio Olympics one year ago.

The Spaniard, who is a two-time champion at this global event, won the Rio gold in August, 2016 edging India’s PV Sindhu in an enthralling final. But niggling injuries have deprived the southpaw of delivering her best since then.

After an intense two-month training block in San Sebastian, Spain, the 24-year-old is brimming with confidence again about her chances at the World Championships.

Before leaving for Glasgow, Marin talked about how she is feeling ahead of the defence of her title and even went on to add that a ‘new Carolina’ will be unveiled at the championships.

“I’m at my best, even better than the Games,” told Marin at a media interaction in Madrid, as quoted by the Spanish publication, Mundo Deportivo, before emphasizing that she “is going to leave a new Carolina, I want to come and give my best badminton on the track.”

In case you didn’t know

Marin has not been at her best since the Rio gold. Her only achievement in the following one year has been defending her European Championships title. After Rio, she lost three finals, besides giving a walkover in another.

Back-to-back opening round defeats at the Indonesia Open and the Australian Open were a wake-up call and she fully focussed on rectifying her mistakes in the subsequent two months.

The heart of the matter

A rejuvenated Marin insisted she is raring to go now. She has been clear about her objective and she wants nothing less than a gold. If she did not have the hunger to be the best again, she would not have opted for such a long training period, the lefty pointed out.

She admitted that she has renewed ambition now and has also managed to even out details of her game that should see her playing at an elevated level next week.

Marin also stressed on the necessity of adding surprise elements which she and team have been successfully able to incorporate into her game.

What’s next?

Marin, who is seeded third, has a bye in the first round. She begins her campaign against the winner of the first round contest between Yip Pui Yin and Natalia Perminova.

Author’s take

Carolina Marin’s thunderous pace has been devastating for others to handle when the Spaniard is on song. It would be most welcome to see the defending champion back at her best for it would not only intensify the competition but would also make the championships a treat to watch for the countless badminton fans around the globe.