Beiwen Zhang Narrowly Defeated in Round of 16
The Round of 16 for Women’s Singles for badminton took place during the evening session on August 1 at Arena Porte de la Chapelle. After finishing at the top of Group K, U.S. athlete Beiwen Zhang would first face Spain’s Carolina Marin in the knockout bracket.
Zhang and Marin had met eight times previously, with Zhang winning only the most recent of those encounters at the French Open (14-21, 21-16, 21-17). Both athletes are coming into Paris 2024 after recovering from major injuries, with Zhang, 34, coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon at Tokyo 2020 while Marin, 31, tore the anterior cruciate ligament of her right knee in 2019 and in her left knee prior to Tokyo 2020.
The U.S. athlete opened up a strong lead against Marin, up 11-3 at the interval of the first game. Throughout the first game, Zhang demonstrated exceptional control over the rallies and forced the Spaniard to make key errors. Through patient play, Zhang kept any comeback attempt at bay. Marin brought the score to 15-12 before the American athlete pulled off six straight points to win 21-12.
Zhang opened up the second game with a variety of fast shots, trying to take advantage of the momentum of the first game but was unable to break Marin’s defense. Zhang would go into the interval down 7-11 after several shots from Marin landed in along the backline. The American would only earn two more points in the second game, losing 9-21.
In the crucial third game, Zhang opened a slim 4-1 lead with several good rallies but Marin would battle back again to lead at the interval. Down 7-11 again, Zhang and Marin exchanged fierce rallies back and forth with Zhang eventually pulling off a 15-14 lead. However, the comeback would not last as Marin forced the American to make several errors and Zhang would be narrowly defeated,18-21.
Despite the disappointing finish, Zhang remained positive as she said “I’m pretty satisfied with what I was able to do on court.” When asked about her future plans, she said “I’ll be slowing down to give myself a little break. I also need to plan my future journey. But I will not be completely stopped.”
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Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto (Mikael Ropars)
