Pakistan’s badminton star Manaal Khan announced her retirement from the sport, citing harassment and political issues.
Manaal, a three-time U-16 and two-time U-19 national champion, posted a video on her Instagram account where she talked in great detail about why she decided to quit the sport she loved the most.
“Assalam-u-Alaikum guys, I hope you all are doing great. I have thought of making a video regarding the prize money issues and addressing everything. As you all know I’ve been very vocal about all this, I am not someone who would stay silent [on such issues],” she began.
“If I see something wrong I would speak about it in my capacity. In Pakistan, an athlete’s life is not easy by any means to achieve your dream in Pakistan is difficult there is harassment, politics, and favouritism. I just want to say that the decision I’ve made is a very tough one. The next badminton tournament would be my last one,” Manaal said.
She then stated that people in Pakistan make things difficult for athletes.
“An athlete sacrifices everything to achieve your dream but in Pakistan, some people don’t let you achieve that dream because they have problems with you. I want to thank you all for being a constant support,” she added.
“For now, I think Badminton is finished for me. You never know if I’ll play another sport, I think for now, it is important for me to focus on my mental health. There is so much negativity, everyone has a problem with everyone and due to that, the only person that suffers is an athlete.
“We need to speak because without that, nothing will change. In the next few days, I’ll make another video to name and call out those who have ruined the sport. When you invest this much in a sport, you are not even given medical and other facilities, everyone knows where that money goes.”
