Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marín wins All England nine years later. GETTY IMAGES

Marín won the final against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, who retired in the second set due to injury. She went from strength to strength in the tournament, beating the best, including reigning Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei. Next stop, the Swiss Open.

Carolina Marín won her second All England title on Sunday, beating Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, who retired with an injury after losing the first set and trailing in the second, in the final. The Spaniard's victory came nine years after she won the tournament for the first time. 

Marín, who broke into tears of joy after winning the title, had won the first game 26-24 and was leading 11-1 in the second when she was forced to retire with a hip injury. The first set was close but Yamaguchi couldn't keep up the pace in the second.

"I am very proud, and of course very, very happy to win my second All England after nine years," celebrated Marín, who seems to be finding her form again after serious knee injuries.

Carolina Marín went from strength to strength at the All England tournament. GETTY IMAGES
Carolina Marín went from strength to strength at the All England tournament. GETTY IMAGES

Marín is one of the Spanish hopes for Olympic gold at the Paris Games after becoming the first non-Asian to win the Olympic badminton singles championship with her gold medal at Rio 2016.

Marín triumphed in a tournament in which she improved with each match to reach the final. She struggled to beat Taiwan's Sung Shuo Yun in the round of sixteen, then had an easier time of it against China's Wang Zhi Yi in the quarter-finals.

She then improved her game in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to beat Chen Yu Fei, the reigning Olympic champion, and Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying, ranked third in the world.

It wasn't the first time that she had faced Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, ranked fourth in the world. They had met 17 times, with the Spaniard winning nine times and the Japanese eight. The final was expected to be close, but Yamaguchi's injury prevented it.

Carolina Marín is aiming to repeat her Rio 2016 success at Paris 2024. She became the first non-Asian player to win Olympic gold. Before the All England, she played in the French Open to familiarise herself with the court that will be the stage for next summer's Olympic Games. Unfortunately, she lost in the first round. 

Her next stops are the Swiss Open, the Spanish Masters in Madrid and the European Championships in Germany in April, just a month and a half before Paris 2024. Carolina Marín's honours include a gold medal at Rio 2016, three World titles, eight European Championships and 21 international BWF titles.