Ace badminton player PV Sindhu announced her "retirement" from the sport on Monday in a lengthy tweet, which came as a shocker to her fans and followers. But is the star shuttler really hanging up her boots?
The first page of PV Sindhu's "retirement" news read: "Denmark Open was the final straw. I RETIRE."
"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," she wrote before adding that by the end of her lengthy note, her fans would understand the reason behind her "decision".
"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," she added. "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."
— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) November 2, 2020
The 25-year-old Olympic silver medallist continued by saying that the Denmark Open was the "final straw" as she could not represent India in the tournament. Those who read her tweet till here assumed that she was, in fact, retiring from the sport. But in reality, she only wanted citizens to not forget that they were still in the middle of an ongoing pandemic which is claiming more and more lives by the day.
This is the greatest loss to our sports fraternity. Please reconsider your decision.🙏🙏
— Madhu S (@mbmclass1990) November 2, 2020
U have a long future plz reconsider on it
— Rohit - Human ! joshi (@Roohan786007) November 2, 2020
Really wish her healing and lots of love. Nothing can deny that she's left a legacy for millions of us including me. Thank You Queen 🙌🏼❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/YAM7Fv89XN
— Gayatri Sai (@g3sai) November 2, 2020
Why mam it's too early u have more future will be here na https://t.co/Y6AH8baDWp
— Shivasharan Sharan (@Shivash59309017) November 2, 2020
"I choose to retire from substandard hygiene standards and our lackadaisical attitude towards the virus. We must not digress; we need to be better prepared. We must defeat this virus together."
"I may have given you guys a mini-heart attack, unprecedented times requires unprecedented measures. I guess I needed to get you guys to sit up and take notice."
She ended her cryptic post by saying that she will continue training, meaning she will continue to play the sport and come back for the Asia Cup. But till then the fight against the virus must go on.
Her fans and well-wishers breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! That gave me a "mini heart attack" in the first half! Got me there! But I guess many people won't get the message you're trying to imply! They'll think you actually retired! Nice effort though," wrote one Twitter user.
My reaction while reading this. More power to you champion @Pvsindhu1. pic.twitter.com/hK7YlAsK1z
— Durgansh Dixit (@DurganshDixit) November 2, 2020
I am pretty sure, many people who read this will not get it. Many will assume you retired 😂
— 🇮🇳 Karthik Kalyan 🇮🇳 (@carthik1988) November 2, 2020
No one retires from Life. So I sustained the mini heart attack. 🙏👍
— Francis Joseph (Educator) (@Francis_Joseph) November 2, 2020
This was legit my first reaction after reading the words 'I retire'Don't scare us like this ;_; pic.twitter.com/cxx6wGfDRI
— Smriti Sinha (@smritisinha99) November 2, 2020
Thank god, I read articles entirely till the end.!😭🙏So, PV Sindhu pulled a MSD. pic.twitter.com/MwROObWDuk
— Bhakti (@Bhakti_Varak) November 2, 2020
Not gonna lie , you got me in the first half..
— Sayan Majhi³⁴ (@isayanmajhi) November 2, 2020
Sindhu bagged silver each at 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. The star shuttler is also a recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan awards.