MOVING FORWARD: Spanish badminton champ, Carolina Marin, returns to training

SPANISH badminton champion Carolina Marin has returned to her training regime after injuring her knee in January.

Marin shared videos and pictures on social media showing her practising shots while walking on crunches.

It comes after she ruptured the cruciate ligament in her knee during the final of the Indonesian Masters Tournament on Sunday January 27 and underwent surgery on January 29. She was back training six days later.

Marin, 25, from Huelva Province, said her goal to win the gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 kept her motivated and keen to get back on the court.

“What makes me train is the desire to do what I enjoy doing. Otherwise it would be impossible,” Marin said.

“It’s a new challenge, we do different things and what motivates us is to travel on new paths to achieve the same goal,” the athlete added.

Marin’s routine has so far seen her arrive for training at 8.30am on crutches before leaving between 6pm and 7pm.

The 25-year-old said she burst into tears when her coach Fernando Rivas told her she had broken the ligament in her knee.

“I broke down because I knew that this meant being away from competitions for several months. I am very competitive and being outside of things does not get you anywhere.

“As soon as I left hospital I told myself that I had to be patient. That is not one of my strong points either, but you have to develop. Look, there is another positive from this,” she said.