The former Indian badminton player, Saina Nehwal, was caught up in a social media stampede after her remarks about Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in a podcast. Saina opened up about how she was not aware of a sport like javelin, only after Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in 2021(happened in 2021 because of Covid-19) at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Although she intended to applaud Chopra’s triumph, she was heavily criticised by people on the internet.
“When Neeraj won (the Tokyo gold in 2021), that’s when I got to know there is such an event in athletics,” Saina had said during the podcast. Many fans were stunned by the statement, and some started trolling.
They even compared her to Kangana Ranaut, calling her the “Kangana Ranaut of sports”, who is known for her frequent controversial viewpoints. She clapped back and replied to the trolls.
Nehwal, an Olympic medallist, addressed the backlash she has been facing since she made the Neeraj Chopra remark. She urged people to invest time doing something positive instead of spreading negativity. She underlined the necessity of creating a supportive environment for our athletes.
This ongoing situation underlines the backlash any public figure has to encounter in this era of social media.It also determines how easy it is to misinterpret opinions of public figures and turn it into negativity. Saina Nehwal’s incident remark serves as a reminder that positive discussion should be prioritised in order to create a safe environment for the athletes of our country.
