New Delhi: Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, on Monday said that shuttler PV Sindhu gave him a mini shock with her Twitter post titled "I Retire".
In a lengthy post on her official Twitter handle, Sindhu said that the Denmark Open was the final straw and she has decided to bid adieu to the game.
"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 had won a silver medal at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games. She has also been a recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan awards.
Last year, she had won a gold medal at the BWF World Championships. Sindhu is the only Indian shuttler to have won a silver medal at the Olympics.
What she was actually talking was about the negativity which has spread amid the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed lakhs of lives across the world. "Denmark Open was the last straw. I retire". This beginning left netizens to ponder whether the 25-year-old is actually retiring from professional badminton.
However, later in the post, Sindhu clarified that she may have given her fans a "mini heart attack" but she did it so that her fans "sit up and take notice".
"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.
"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.
The shuttler then went on to say that she chooses to retire from this negativity, uncertainty, and lackadaisical attitude towards the virus.
"Today, I choose to retire from this current sense of unrest. I retire from this negativity, the constant fear, uncertainty. I choose to retire from a complete lack of control over the unknown. Most importantly, I choose to retire from substandard hygiene standards and our lackadaisical attitude towards the virus," the badminton player said.
"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 concluded.
