Indian Olympic Medallist P.V. Sindhu Retires, But Not From Badminton, Fans in Frenzy

Olympic silver medallist and World Champion P.V. Sindhu has been one of India’s best shuttlers. In 2018, she became the first Indian player to win the Badminton World Federation World Tour and was included in Forbes’ list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2018 and 2019, with $8.5 million and $5.5 million in earnings respectively.

Indian badminton star P.V. Sindhu gave a “mini heart attack” to her fans on Monday as she shared a long note on social media which read, “Denmark Open was the final straw. I RETIRE”.

Her fans were in for a shock initially, but after reading the whole note, it clarified that she isn’t retiring from the sport, but from the fear of COVID and the casual approach to beat the coronavirus.

​Calling the pandemic an “eye-opener”, the 25-year-old said, “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?”

Without reading the entire post to understand the actual message being conveyed, many of her fans went into a frenzy and bombarded social media with heartbroken messages.

​I am heart broken to hear your retirement @Pvsindhu1 , as i expected not less than gold from you in the next Olympic. Emotions apart, it must be a well thought decision by you, and pray for more power to you. Wishing you all the best .

​This is really a shocking news. But what you feel is same for everybody. That doesn’t mean we will wind up. We would like to see you performing much better in coming days unless you have planned for something else. Thank You. All the best.

​Some fans also urged her to reconsider the decision, as she is at the peak of her career.

​Indian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju wrote that she “gave a mini shock” with her post.

Although Sindhu left many surprised with her post while actually referring to retirement from the fear and negativity caused due to COVID-19, she managed to draw widespread attention to the need to be better prepared to defeat the pandemic.

Sourse: sputniknews.com