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Saturday, November 23, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Badminton player Manaal Tariq Khan retires citing harassment and corruption

Adds that she will expose issues in the sport's governing body soon
Photo via Instagram @Manaaltkhan
Photo via Instagram @Manaaltkhan

Former national badminton champion Manaal Tariq Khan announced on Sunday that she would resign after the current tournament.

Khan, who has won the national Under-16 title thrice and under-19 title twice, said she was ‘disappointed, crushed and angry’ in an Instagram post.

She also posted a video thanking her fans for the support but said that she had decided to leave the sport due to the issues she had been facing.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Khan added that athletes sacrifice everything for their sporting lives but people get in the way of dreams due to personal problems.

“There is so much negativity, everyone has a problem with everyone and due to that, the only person that suffers is an athlete,” she said.

However, she also said that it is necessary to speak about the issues in the sport’s governing body and she would do it in a few days.

“When you invest this much in a sport, you are not even given medical and other facilities, everyone knows where that money goes,” she said.

Khan won three medals while representing Army in the 2023 national games. She has also represented Pakistan internationally.

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manaal tariq khan