PV Sindhu | More than an ‘I Retire’ message on Twitter

India’s badminton champion P.V. Sindhu left fans and social media in a tizzy Monday after she posted “I Retire”, and added that not being able to represent India at the Denmark Open was the last straw.

While on the face of it appeared the Olympic silver medalist was retiring from the sport, her post, which included a series of text slides, went on to say she was retiring from this “current state of unrest”, “negativity” and “complete lack of control over the unknown” in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the three-page note, Sindhu said the pandemic had been an “eye-opener” that left her wondering “how do I defeat this invisible virus that has the entire world in a fix”. Speaking about Covid-19, she further said she was also retiring from “substandard hygiene standards and our lackadaisical attitude towards the virus”.

Towards the end of her post, she acknowledged that her message may have given people a mini heart-attack, but added that “unprecedented times required unprecedented measures”.

She ended it by saying she would not stop training and would train hard for the Asia Open and would not give up without “putting up a solid fight”, clarifying that she wasn’t retiring from the sport.

Sindhu’s mother P. Vijaya told ThePrint that she was supportive of her statement and Sindhu was sending a message that everyone must be able to break free from Covid soon. She said, “This is nothing related to the sport…in fact I spoke to her a few hours ago regarding her practice sessions. She just wanted to give out a message that it is still important to be equally careful and fight this virus out.”

Sindhu is currently ranked world no.7.