Indian shuttler PV Sindhu shook desi Twitter and the sporting world yesterday when she began a social media post with the words: “I retire”.
However, the reigning World Champion was not talking about retiring from the sport.
“I have been thinking about coming clean with my feelings for a while now. I admit I have been struggling to deal with it. It just feels so wrong, you know. That’s why I’, writing today to tell you that I’m done. It’s understandable if you’re shocked or confused but by the time you finish reading this you would have learnt about my point of view, and hopefully, will support it too,” Sindhu wrote.
“This pandemic has been an eye-opener for me. I could train hard to fight the toughest of opponents, tooth and nail, right till the final shot of the game. I have done it before, I can do it again. But how do I defeat this invisible virus that has the entire world in a fix? It has been months at home and we still question ourselves every time we step out. Internalizing all this and reading about so many heart-breaking stories online has got me to question a lot about myself and this world we live in. Not being able to represent India in the Denmark Open was the last straw,” she added.
“I may have given you guys a mini-heart attack; unprecedented times requires unprecedented measures. I guess I needed to get you guys sit up and take notice. That being said, we must be hopeful about the light shining at the end of the tunnel. Yes, Denmark Open didn’t happen but that won’t stop me from training. When life comes at you, one must come back twice as hard. So will I for the Asia Open. I refuse to give up without putting up a solid fight. I refuse to give up without conquering this fear. And will carry on doing so till we have a safer world,” PV Sindhu said in conclusion to her “I Retire” message.
Naturally, as mentioned above, the beginning of her message gave netizens a massive shock. Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports was also not spared.
“You actually gave a mini shock @Pvsindhu1 but I had unflinching faith in your power of determination. I’m sure you have the strength and stamina to bring many more laurels for India,” Rijiju tweeted.
Sindhu has won a silver medal at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games and is also the recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan awards. In 2019, she won a gold medal at the BWF World Championships and is also the only Indian shuttler to have won a silver medal at the Olympics.
