Manaal Khan, a Pakistani badminton player, announced her retirement after citing political and harassment issues on Sunday. The athlete posted a video on Instagram and opened up about why she decided to retire at the age of 24.
The badminton star has won the U-16 championship three times and the U-19 national championship two times. She had the national title for five years but during the 2017 World Junior Championship, the General Secretary of the Pakistan Badminton Federation did not even select Manaal in the squad.
Manaal Khan said in her Instagram video, “Why should an athlete play for a country whose Federation General Secretary gives statements like ‘we forgot to take Manaal to the world junior championship’, and I am the athlete who has been the national champion for the last 5 years.”
"I begged, I cried to God."
Pakistan badminton player Manaal Khan, who recently announced retirement citing harassment and politics, opens up about her decision. @fawadhasanpk @WahabViki will you do something about this? pic.twitter.com/nyf0hY7a87
— Muneeb Farrukh (@Muneeb313_) February 6, 2024
“Why would a player play for a community where if you beat a senior player then that player would not even greet you for the next five years,” she added.
She pointed out the politics and the double standards of the federation and the badminton community stating,
In this country, the badminton federation and the seniors all try to push you down. I had an injury and I was constantly reminded of that. They shattered my confidence to the level that now I cannot play the sport again which I loved the most and they do this with every player who goes through a tough time or suffers injury.
“I begged, I cried to God so that I get out of this injury because everyone around me discouraged me with their toxicity,” she continued.
The badminton player lashed out at the system which does not help young players develop and said,
I am 24 years old and I know when I’ll be 34 in ten years, I will be in the same financial state I’m in today. Badminton has not given me anything in this country. So, I feel this is the right time to retire.
She expressed her concerns regarding her mental health and said that now is the time for her to reflect and think about her future which will not be in badminton.
Stay Connected with ProPakistani
Get the latest sports news, match updates, and player stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
This utterly sad and heartbreaking!
All those A-holes of the Badminton Federation should be treated as the same way as she plays with shuttlecock !