Carolyn Marin These days, he faces one of the most important challenges of his career: trying to win a medal in the Tokyo 2022 World Cup. Gold if possible. Huelva’s year is particularly complicated, with many ups and downs. A situation that has generated a certain imbalance around him that has not helped him to play with complete calmness and complete physical and mental stability.
His golden return marked the beginning of a journey that ended in The 2024 Paris Olympics. This tour, which took much longer than expected, appeared Madrid European where he won his sixth title. A gold medal that was a release more than a sports victory, which are many in his record.
After this success in which she was supported by the Spanish fans after missing out World Cup in Huelva last December, the one that seemed to be the one of his comeback from his serious knee injury, had some really complicated months in which Carolina could not find his best version in the competition. However, he hopes to put an end to those and other ghosts of the past with a World Cup medal.
[El regreso de Carolina Marín: mejora física y psicológica para volver a brillar en lo más alto]
Tokyo is a dark place for the Andalusian as the shadow of her absence from the last Olympics still hangs over her head. However, his debut went in the best possible way, with a calm victory with 21-16 and 21-14 over the Canadian Wen Yu Zhang. A triumph that earned him a place in the round of 16, where he will face the Chinese Bing Jiao He.
Carolina Marin during her debut at the Tokyo 2022 World Championships
“Back” to the cursed place
Can you have a cursed place without being there? For some people like Carolina Marin, yes. This is Tokyo for her, a city where she won major titles but was unable to travel to last summer to play in the Olympics. More than a place, it’s a state of mind, a throwback, a reminder of where he came from and all he suffered because of his damn knees. Karolina has been unable to participate in a World Cup since 2018 due to injuries that hampered the latter part of her career.
She touched the sky in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and has since become a specialist escape from hell. However, so much heavy fighting leaves some sequels. The last major battle came with the rupture of the ligament and meniscus of his left knee, which occurred at the end of May 2021 and which until the last European Championship did not allow him to fly.
However, there were doubts and losses after that, which created some nervousness among fans. In June, “Karo” lost in the second round of Indonesia Open Championship. Shortly after, in July, the second round was again the point of fall in malaysia open. Two bad results in a row, which somewhat affected the brilliant return of the European Championship in April.
[Lío sexista en el US Open: ¿por qué las pelotas de tenis de las mujeres pesan menos que las de ellos?]
These defeats are not at all positive for the Spanish midfielder, who had the challenge of completing his recovery at this World Cup to be again the champion of Carolina and the best contender for everything, and not the player who has just come off a serious injury. Paris 2024 is on the horizon and this chip change is needed to beat the best in the world.
Within this physical and mental battle that Carolina is fighting, participating in this World Cup in the city of Tokyo is a very special revenge for her. The Andalusian is one of the few players in the world who has managed to win Japan open. The two curiously in the pavilion where these world championships are held. The feedback it is positive.
However, there is also a significant load of negativity that you try to push away with a lot of psychological and mental work. Tokyo is one of the big hits in his life, especially in the sporting aspect. She has many vivid moments in her mind, such as the injury that left her out of contention for Olympic gold and the tears shed on the treatment table as she watched her rivals compete at the Games, while she was completely devastated on all levels.
That drama, which he hopes has healed in his mind and heart, is one he hopes to overcome now. Starting with his next match, the one he will play this Thursday against China’s Bing Jiao He, the world number 9, in the Round of 16. The performance so far is unbeatable: “First win at the World Cup with good feelings, but I still have a lot to improve in the game. I have a day ahead of me to fine tune these little details, prepare the game well and come out on Thursday for everyone.”
[Carlos Alcaraz hace un duro balance de su camino al US Open: “No puedo tener tantos altibajos”]
Carolina Marin celebrates victory at the 2022 Tokyo World Championships
Suffering in the Sierra Nevada
Carolina Marin arrives at these World Championships in Tokyo with great intentions to shine and with ambitions to be able to bite into a medal, a celebration she likes to do with every victory and which she copied from one of her idols, Rafael Nadal. However, he knows that he arrives with an important backpack loaded with learning, falls and many hours of work in every respect. The toolbox, as she likes to say.
“Me and the team are out to get a medal, we haven’t said a color, I don’t want to burden myself.” Carolina doesn’t want to add any extra pressure that won’t help her. However, in her head as an insatiable winner, her real goal is to fight for the gold and re-establish herself as the best player in the world. there, Akane Yamaguchicurrent champion, is introduced as her great rival.
After that bad tour in Asia, his team led by his coach Ferdinand Rivas, decided to end the adventure in the east in order to change the perspective of the preparations for the world championship in Tokyo. It was time to train more, improve the mental side and delve into aspects of the game such as using deeper angles and pressing to the net.
To do this, they began a three-week concentration in Sierra Nevada which gave very satisfactory results. There they were able to work in a comfortable and dedicated manner, and the analyzes that Carolina underwent before her trip to Tokyo, both in terms of strength and power and speed, yielded some encouraging conclusions. There is no trace of his trauma in physical education.
[El drama de Garbiñe que no cesa: las claves de su peor año tras caer seis veces en su debut]
However, it’s not all about body work and play, there was also time for mind work. After her latest injury, Carolina places much more importance on psychological work to resist elite pressure and her own heightened self-demand. Being a competitive animal means that sometimes one can become self-absorbed. And for this “Karo” has put medicines.
Carolina Marin, during the European
EFE
The sessions with Maria Martinez They have been a constant over the past year and one of the keys to his recovery. Now, after those two defeats in Indonesia and Malaysia, he saw fit to crush that aspect again to be more focused on him and not so much abroad: “Maybe that’s what I missed in these tournaments. We have to improve on all those mistakes and failures that we had there.”
After this positive concentration in Sierra Nevada, Carolina Marin achieved a victory that is very important to her: a trip with her entire team to Tokyo. From his coach Fernando to his technicians William Y Carlos, physical trainer and physical therapist in Spanish. The big news, however, is that Maria, her psychologist, has also traveled to Japan, a circumstance that has not happened before since the player and her therapist have been communicating via video conferencing.
“Mentally I’ve improved a lot, I talked about it with my psychologist. I’m happy that my whole team is here.” The peculiarity of the trip to Tokyo, with the mental component taken away by not being able to participate in the Games, was key to this circumstance occurring. All the help is small for the Carolina to be as stable and freed as possible so that it can fly like on its best days on the track. The challenge of the World Cup comes in one of the most difficult years, but the tears shed last summer must be renewed for that long-awaited gold bath from the top of the podium. The fourth title awaits in its showcases with many moral victories along the way.