New Delhi:Defending champion Carolina Marin on Tuesday pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to an inury in her left knee that will require a surgery.
Marin, a five-time European and three-time world champion felt discomfort during training on Saturday and tests revealed that she has torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and both meniscus in her left knee.
"After the examination during the weekend and the medical consultation, I confirm that I have torn the ACL and both meniscus on my left knee. I will undergo surgery this week and start my recovery," Marin tweeted.
"This is another blow that I have to deal, but I will certainly be back. The preparation during the last two months had become very difficult for reasons beyond the team's control, but we were excited and knew that I would be in the best shape for the Olympics. It won't be possible.
I want to thank everyone for your support and messages during these days. I know that I am in safe hands and that I have a lot of people by my side," she added.
Marin also earlier suffered an ACL injury on her right knee in January 2019, which kept her out of the courts until September of that year.
The 27-year-old from Spain beat PV Sindhu of India to claim gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.
She had been in red-hot form this year, winning four of the five finals that she played and was a title favourite in Tokyo Games, scheduled to begin on July 23.(UNI)