Bollywood heaps praise on Simone Biles as she withdraws from Tokyo Olympics to focus on mental health

Deepika Padukone, who herself has been quite vocal about her battle with depression, took to her Instagram handle to give a shout-out to Simone

Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and many Bollywood actors supported the most decorated American gymnasts Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from Tokyo Olympics' to focus on her mental well-being. Deepika Padukone, who makes sure to extend her hand to people fighting from mental health issues, shared on her Instagram handle to give a shout-out to Simone. Sharing the athlete's news screenshot by a news outlet, she wrote, "I hear you..." by adding hashtags: "#mentalhealth", '#mentalhealthmatters".

Alia Bhatt also took to her Instagram story, and wrote, "A reminder that your mental health is as important as your physical health. This helps change the narrative regarding mental health all over the world, more power to you." Varun Dhawan also stated, "What an inspiration! An important reminder to take care of your mental health along with your physical! A message for difficult times like these."

For the unversed, American gymnast Simone Biles has cited mental health concerns as her reason to pull out of the women's team final in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. The Rio 2016 gold-medal-winning athlete doesn't want to put her "health and well-being" in danger.

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"Whenever you get in a high-stress situation, you kind of freak out. I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being," CNN quoted Biles as saying. "It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head," Biles broke down in tears while explaining her decision in a press conference. The American gymnast said her team wanted her to go ahead and compete but she didn't want to put a medal at risk.

Biles withdrew from the artistic gymnastics women's team final citing medical grounds, according to USA Gymnastics. The American bailed out of a two-and-a-half twisting vault after executing just one-and-a-half twists, taking a big step on her landing. She then left the gym with a medic and minutes later pulled out her name from the remainder of the event. According to Olympics.com, though Biles had withdrawn from the team final, she is still eligible for the forthcoming individual all-around and apparatus finals.

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With inputs from ANI

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