So the Rio Olympics just reached their fifth day and amid all the tough competition (it’s the Olympics, after all!) Shobhaa De chose to bemoan the lack of medals procured by the Indian athletes, specifically choosing to target the ‘waste of money and opportunity’.
Goal of Team India at the Olympics: Rio jao. Selfies lo. Khaali haat wapas aao. What a waste of money and opportunity.
— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) August 8, 2016
Never mind the fact that the number of athletes from India is the biggest so far (121 athletes) as well as the fact that training for the Olympics is no mean feat. Take for example, the case of the 2004 Athens Olympics where the Indian team had to train to learn to acclimatize themselves to the city.
Shobha De’s ill thought out comments regarding the Indian athletes have found a fitting reply in ace pistol shooter, Heena Sidhu. Sidhu is the first Indian to be ranked World No. 1 in pistol shooting and in a string of tweets, takes De down a peg or two while pointing out that sports, with the exception of cricket, is mostly still neglected in India and rather than bemoaning the lack of medals, maybe it’s time we take a look at the circumstances under which our players have to struggle, especially women players.
My campaign for this Olympics is over. I said 'this Olympics'. I will live to fight another day n fight is what I signed up for 10 yrs ago.
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
Some ppl have been criticizing the Indian Players for 'taking selfies and coming back empty handed'. To them I say, we fight. (1)
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
We fight for us, we fight for d nation and v represent a billion ppl at the Olympics. And even if we lose the whole nation of billion ppl(2)
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
Need to introspect why. Maybe it wud be nice if you write abt Sports sometimes… just sometimes…So that it becomes a national movement(3)
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
There is no reason a billion ppl cannot do well at the Olympics. No reason at all.
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
Indian Players r made of sterner mettle. We face more than just criticism in our lives. I hope u feel good and proud of urself @DeShobhaa
— Heena SIDHU (@HeenaSidhu10) August 9, 2016
Other players also came out strongly against De’s statements, including shooter Abhinav Bindra whom De called a ‘champion’, actor Gul Panag and radio jockey Meera Damji, who pointed out that we should celebrate the spirit of athletes who overcame such odds to participate in the Olympics.
that's a tad unfair. You should be proud of your athletes perusing human excellence against the whole world.
— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 9, 2016
And do so despite of and in spite of there being no infra & institutional support, and no sporting culture @DeShobhaa
— Gul Panag (@GulPanag) August 9, 2016
touché. I'm apalled that people are actually disappointed we're not winning medals. Miracle will also shy out on this one.
— Meera Damji (@MeeMeera) August 9, 2016
While it is true that some of the top players are out, it does not take away from their dedication and hard work, as well as the dedication of remaining players. Sports isn’t recognized only by medals, we must also recognize the efforts the players themselves put in. And as Heena Sidhu puts it so succinctly, if we want to see more success, maybe it’s time we start giving sports more attention.