PV Sindhu recently penned a heartwarming tribute to Tai Tzu Ying after the Taiwanese legend announced her retirement from badminton. The Indian reflected on their journey together, while wishing her longtime rival a ‘beautiful second innings’.Tai has undoubtedly been one of the greatest women's singles stars the game of badminton has witnessed. The 31-year-old’s career saw her be ranked No.1 in the world for 214 weeks, the second longest run atop the chart in BWF history. She was also a four-time BWF World Tour Finals titleist, a three-time All England champion and a three-time Asian Championships gold-medalist.On Friday, November 7, Tai Tzu Ying announced her retirement from badminton after recurring injury issues. Reacting to this, PV Sindhu took to Instagram to pen a lengthy tribute to her rival and friend, writing,“For over 15 years, you were the opponent who pushed me to my limits every single time. Two of the most important medals of my life - the Rio 2016 Olympic silver and the 2019 World Championship gold - came after playing you in those marathon, heart-stopping matches. I won't hide it: I hated playing you. Your wristwork, your deception, your calm brilliance made me dig deeper than I ever imagined I could. Facing you changed me as an athlete.@taesang2734 will tell you how much we prepared before playing you.”The Indian went on to reflect on her bond with Tai beyond the court, adding,“But beyond the rivalry, we built something truly meaningful. A quiet friendship, a deep respect, and a bond shaped through years of battles that only we fully understand. Watching you step away feels like losing a piece of my own journey. The sport will miss your magic, and so will I. It is starting to hit me that my generation of players are slowly beginning to step away, and nothing really prepares you for that. Wishing you the most beautiful second innings, dear Tai.” View this post on Instagram Instagram PostA look back at PV Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying’s rivalry over the yearsTai Tzu Ying, Chen Yufei and Sindhu at the Tokyo Olympics (Image Source: Getty)Over the course of their careers, PV Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying battled a total of 24 times. Of these encounters, Tai was undoubtedly the more dominant player, winning 19 matches.However, the five times that Sindhu did manage to get the better of the Olympic silver medalist all came at crucial junctures. The first time that the Indian outdid Tai was in 2012, when she beat the Taiwanese on home ground at the India Open, before outdoing her again at the 2015 Denmark Open.In 2016, PV Sindhu defied all odds to defeat Tai at the Rio Olympics. She then went on to outdo the World No.1 at the 2018 World Tour Finals as well as the 2019 Basel World Championships.