NEW DELHI, March 27 -- The badminton world had been waiting 20 months for the return of Carolina Marin, who had announced her comeback at next month's European Championships in her hometown of Huelva. But it wasn't to be. "My journey in professional badminton has come to an end and therefore I will not be competing in the European Championships in Huelva," the 32-year-old Spaniard wrote in a post on social media announcing her retirement on Thursday. As one of modern-day badminton's greatest exponents, Marin redefined the sport through her feistiness, raw power, high intensity, speed and aggression, which helped her conquer the 2016 Olympics and three World Championships (2014, 2015, 2018). The Spaniard dismantled her opponents through incredible psychological aggression that set her apart from any other shuttler. Her high-pitched shrieks, loud "vamos" calls and hyper activism on court - she used all as tactical tools to annoy and intimidate opponents - was in stark contrast to the unresponsive and largely quiet rivals, leading to their undoing. The former world No.1 was perhaps the grittiest player of her generation, winning games from impossible situations. Take the 2019 China Open final for example. In her first significant tournament after returning to the circuit following a career-threatening ACL tear, Marin produced a brilliant come-from-behind victory to beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-Ying in three games. Being left-handed also gave the Spaniard a natural advantage that helped her create awkward angles for right-handed opponents. Her cross-court smashes and deceptive drops from the back were particularly difficult to read. With lightning-fast footwork, Marin, a two-time All England Open winner, was known to attack the shuttle early, giving her rivals less time. Marin's game was as much about mental dominance as it was about physical skill. Taking frequent breaks, staring down at her rivals and controlling the pace ensured she had it her way. As she leaves the game, one of Marin's standout legacies is emerging from a country with barely any heritage in badminton to dominating the sport despite the presence of greats like Tai, China's Chen Yufei and Li Xuerui, Japanese Akane Yamaguchi and India's own PV Sindhu. She is the only non-Asian women's singles shuttler to win gold at the Olympics and World Championships apart from being the only player to win at least seven gold medals in a single discipline of any continental event, having won every European Championships title since 2014. Had it not been for her recurring knee issues, Marin probably would won more medals at both the Olympics and World Championships. The favourite to defend the title at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she had pulled out of the extravaganza due to the knee injury. Three years later in Paris, Marin was leading 21-14, 10-8 against China's He Bing Jiao when a bad landing forced her to withdraw from the Olympics. "I would 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. I stand by my decision. I wish my career had ended in a different way, but in life things don't always go as we want and we have to accept that. Deep down, I did retire on court, in Paris in 2024. We just didn't know it at the time," said Marin. "My path ends here."...