The Spanish Carolina MarÃn won the final victory in the badminton Masters held in the French city of Orléans after defeating the American Beiwen Zhang in three sets (25-23, 9-21 and 21-10). ).
MarÃn faced the appointment with the confidence that being the number 1 seed gave her and having passed all the previous rounds without having given up a single set. Opposite, a player who started the event as the sixth favorite and with whom she had a positive balance of 6-2.
The rough match began for Carolina, with a change of racket and 1-4 against the start. He responded to adversity by pressing his rival, who found a wall in the net where his attempts were dying consecutively until he was behind 5-4. From that moment the most solid Spanish was seen, going from 6-6 to 12-6 and extending that dynamic to 16-10.
There he failed to execute Zhang in the net at one point and revived it, signing a 0-5 that included a long exchange of impacts to put only one down. That ability to hold on to the track continued to show her until an outcome of the set where she asked for the psychological game. She had it in the hand of her the American, who could not specify the three consecutive opportunities that she had to close it. Neither did MarÃn at the first, but he did at the second (25-23).
The emotional setback would have taken its toll on anyone, but not Zhang. Far from sinking, she went out on the track ready to crush her opponent. Quick on her legs, omnipresent and unwavering; He did not make any concessions until the ninth point and immediately afterwards he added a 0-6 run to leave the score at a surprising 1-14. That was too much even for Carolina, who at least exhibited character to minimize the damage (9-21).
The third and final set began with alternatives, the Andalusian taking advantage of her services to lower the revolutions to the clash between the judge’s attention calls. Zhang, concentrated, held out in that context until 8-10. And from there, she evaporated. The freezing cry with which MarÃn celebrated 10-10 was the first sign of a storm that devastated everything. Recovering the spirit of her best afternoons, she did not give up a single point (21-10).
It was the finishing touch to a tournament that serves to put gasoline cans in the backpack of the player from Huelva, full of energy throughout the week and who lifts her second trophy after overcoming a long injury. In ascending progression, a new climb towards Olympus continues its course.
