Medal I received, retiring (5)
I believe the answer is:
going
'retiring' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'medal i received' is the wordplay.
'medal' becomes 'gong' (informal term for a medal or prize).
'received' indicates putting letters inside.
'gong' enclosing 'i' is 'GOING'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for going that I've seen before include "Condition, of course" , "in action" , "Departure; current (rate)" , "Disappearing" , "attending" .)