Nguyen Thuy Linh created an earthquake before the Olympic champion, the opponent could only express admiration.

This is one of the most outstanding performances in the career of "Vietnam's Badminton Beauty".

Recently, the former world number one, former world champion and Olympic champion - Carolina Marin announced her retirement after failing to recover from a severe injury sustained during the semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Marin is known as a "torch" who paved the way and led the path for Spanish women's badminton specifically and European badminton in general, a star of caliber with a courageous and fiery competitive spirit. However, precisely the intensity in each rally placed the "Roaring Lion" repeatedly on the borderline between love and hate, making her one of the most controversial names in the badminton world over the past decade.

Carolina Marin had only one encounter with Vietnam's current women's number one player - Nguyen Thuy Linh at the prestigious China Masters tournament held in late November 2023. Here, Thuy Linh created an earthquake by staging a comeback to defeat the elite opponent after three sets with scores of 10-21; 21-19; 21-15. Marin is also precisely the highest-ranked player that Vietnam's "Golden Girl" of badminton has ever defeated in her career.

The match on court 3 that year quickly attracted fans' attention as Marin - a player who won the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal and was then ranked world number 5 - started dominantly. The Spanish representative easily won the first game 21-10, showing superior class compared to her opponent.

However, the turning point came from the second game as Thuy Linh fought resiliently and gradually regained control. Vietnam's number one player effectively utilized Marin's mistakes to reverse the game 21-19, thereby pushing the match into the decisive set. At the critical moment, composure and a solid foundation of stamina helped Thuy Linh continue to dominate. She maintained a steady playing style, minimizing unforced errors to conclude the spectacular comeback victory with a 21-15 win.

"I couldn't control myself in this match. Really very disappointed. The opponent played much better than me, didn't make many mistakes. She fought for every point. Thuy Linh played persistently and I couldn't keep up with this intensity.", Carolina Marin admitted after the match.

On her part, Thuy Linh couldn't hide her surprise. The player from Phu Tho shared that she never thought she could defeat an opponent of Marin's caliber, but always entered the court with a spirit of fighting to the fullest.

The journey of Vietnam's number one player at that year's China Masters continued after the memorable victory over Marin. She defeated Line Kjaersfeldt in the round of 16 and only stopped after losing to Kim Ga-eun in the quarterfinals.

Since that match, Nguyen Thuy Linh has continuously progressed with four runner-up titles at Super 300 events; won the Vietnam Open 2024 championship; achieved her career-high ranking at world number 17. For Marin, she remained among the top group of players until the injury at Paris 2024 marked the end of the career of the "Roaring Lion".