Olympic Badminton 2016: Medal Winners, Scores and Friday's Results

Carolina Marin took the individual gold in the women's badminton tournament during Friday's 2016 Summer Olympics action in Rio de Janeiro, beating Sindhu Pusarla of India 2-1 in the final.

The 23-year-old already won world titles in 2014 and 2015 and was the favourite for the gold entering the Olympic tournament, but 21-year-old Sindhu didn't make it easy on Marin, making her work for every point.

Japan's Nozomi Okuhara earned the bronze in a walkover win over China's Xuerui Li, who withdrew with an injury. In the men's doubles final, the Chinese duo of Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang beat Malaysia's Shem Goh V and Wee Kiong Tan in a thriller. Great Britain secured the bronze on Thursday.

Here's a look at Friday's medallists:

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Carolina Marin, ESP	Sindhu Pusarla, IND	Nozomi Okuhara, JPN

	Score
Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang, CHN	2-1	Shem Goh V and Wee Kiong Tan, Mal

Recap

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

From the opening game of the women's singles finals, Sindhu showed the resilience that led her to a shock berth in the final, and it made for a fantastic contest. Marin took an early lead and seemed to be cruising to a 1-0 advantage when she was up by five, but her opponent fought her way back and dragged the match out.

Sindhu eventually crossed the line first, taking the opening game 21-19. Social media was buzzing with pride from Indian fans, including former actress Twinkle Khanna:

The second game played out in similar fashion―once again, Marin took the lead early, overpowering Sindhu with her fast approach to the game. Sindhu again tried a late comeback, scoring five straight points at the end of the game, but this time, the deficit was simply too big, as Marin easily won 21-12.

That set up a decider, and while Marin built a three-point buffer in the opening stages and Sindhu seemed to tire rapidly, the Indian athlete fought back to tie things up at 10-10. Marin took the next four points after long, physical rallies, but her lead didn't seem safe.

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra was rooting for his compatriot:

Marin was the fresher of the two players in the final game, however, and Sindhu finally cracked. She soon faced a massive 20-14 deficit, and Marin finished the job two points later. Sports writer Pratap Simha praised the performance of the 21-year-old silver medallist:

The men's doubles final was every bit as exciting, as China and Malaysia split the two games evenly. Goh V and Tan took the first game 21-15, before Fu and Zhang cruised to the second, winning 21-11.

The final game turned into an absolute thriller, however, with both teams barely giving up an inch. China had the advantage in the final points but struggled to put their opponents away, before two long rallies finally went their way, with the final set score being 23-21.