‘I retire,' says ace shuttler PV Sindhu; gives a 'mini heart attack'

World champion shuttler P.V. Sindhu on Monday (November 2) gave her fans a shock by tweeting “I retire”. However, her post on social media had a bigger message amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In her three-page tweet, the Olympic silver medallist started off, “Denmark Open was the last straw. I retire.” Seeing this, many assumed that Sindhu was retiring from badminton. However, that was not the case.

“I’ve 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’m 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.

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“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,” she added.

The 25-year-old continued, “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.”

The actual part about choosing to “retire” appeared in the last page. She said she was quitting from “this current sense of unrest” and she won’t give up. “Today, I choose to retire from this current sense of unrest. I retire from this negativity, the constant fear, uncertainty.”

Related news: Sindhu becomes first Indian to win world championship

“We must not digress; we need to be better prepared. We must defeat this virus together. The choices we make today will define our future and the future of the next generation. We cannot afford to let them down. I may have given you guys a mini-heart attack; unprecedented times require unprecedented measures. I guess I needed to get you guys to 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,” Sindhu signed off.

Sindhu will be back in action in January 2021 with the Asian Open. After a four-month break due to the lockdown, she was back in training in August in Hyderabad at the national camp but left midway to train in England.