BADMINTON star Carolina Marin left the court in floods of tears after an injury derailed her Olympic dream.
The Spaniard was leading her semi-final against China's Bing Jiao He 21-14, 10-5.
But she collapsed to the ground after landing awkwardly during a rally.
Marin, 31, won gold at Rio 2016 but could not defend her medal in Tokyo after tearing the ACL in her right leg in 2021.
She tried to fight on bravely with her right leg heavily strapped.
But she could not continue and was forced to retire.
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The Paris crowd gave her a round of applause as she left the court and broke down in tears.
Marin went straight to hospital from the arena to have her leg evaluated.
Spanish Badminton Federation president Andoni Azurmendi paid tribute to the stricken star on X.
He wrote: "It is a very difficult moment for Carolina and for all Spanish sport, not just badminton.
"She was one step away from her second Olympic final and fighting for her second gold and an injury leaves her without a medal.
"At least, the IOC should award her the bronze. She deserves it."
Fans agreed with the president's take.
One posted: "The IOC should award Carolina a bronze medal.
"It would be a gesture that perfectly represents the Olympic spirit."
Another added: "The IOC should award her a bronze medal at least. She was clearly going to win the match."
Jiao He will face Republic of Korea’s An Se-Young in tomorrow morning's final.
An beat Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 to reach the gold medal match.
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