On a day of heartbreak at Olympics, Shobhaa De's tweet was just cruel
Twitter folk aren't big fans of Sobhaa De's opinions. Photo: Twitter (@madnish30)
Day three of the 2016 Rio Olympics was heartbreaking for India.
One of our most experienced campaigners, Gagan Narang, failed to qualify for the final of 10m air rifle event, our star shooter Abhinav Bindra lost out on a bronze medal on a tie-breaker and our hockey team played the mighty Germans well but conceded with just three seconds (!) left to lose 1-2.
The margins at the highest level are extremely narrow. Things did not go India's way on Monday, and as the nation mourned a day of what ifs, Shobhaa De, our "great" social, cultural and political commentator dropped this on Twitter:
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
There are many things which are wrong about this tweet, but let's start with the most basic fact: every sportsperson at the Olympics is a superhuman.
They are the 0.0001 per cent of the 0.1 per cent of all humans in the world. Basketball player JJ Reddick recently started hosting a podcast which speaks of the grind athletes have to go through, the sacrifice put in everyday to prepare themselves for those 90-120 minutes of the "show".
Olympic qualification is not one of De's books that is sold on the stands, but achieved through considerable struggle.
Such insensitivity by an influential commentator like De was the last thing we needed on an already difficult day, and she was lambasted by people, including active Olympians, on Twitter.
@DeShobhaa that's a tad unfair. You should be proud of your athletes perusing human excellence against the whole world.
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 9, 2016
@Abhinav_Bindra 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
Lots of lament about medal tally, but no lament about lack of fitness culture (which builds a sporting nation) @Abhinav_Bindra @DeShobhaa
— Gul Panag (@GulPanag) August 9, 2016
@DeShobhaa maybe things will change when the attitude of people like urself change!!!!???? #Proudindian #proudsportsperson
— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) August 8, 2016
@DeShobhaa a little harsh to belittle the hard work put in by our athletes ...don't you think ?
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) August 8, 2016
Yes, winning is the goal. But representing your country at the Olympics is a HUGE deal too regardless of the results. Proud of r athletes.
— Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) August 9, 2016
That's most unfair Shobha. Pl chk what it takes to even qualify for Olympics. None is gifted a junket in this league https://t.co/ixRI9c9uOn
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) August 8, 2016
Unsporting & crass for socialites to frivolously dis Indian athletes who have succeeded against all odds to get as far as Rio
— Milind Deora (@milinddeora) August 8, 2016
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| Shobhaa De's Tweet offended a lot of people, especially after the performance of gymnast Dipa Karmakar. Photo: Reuters |
In all seriousness @DeShobhaa. For all your "class" and high society persona, u are a low life disgrace. Won't even bother mincing words.
— Vande Mataram (@UnSubtleDesi) August 8, 2016
@DeShobhaa shameful tweet and considering how some like u prefer to be armchair gyaanis
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) August 8, 2016
.@DeShobhaa Ma'am, with undue respect, I feel u could've got us a gold medal, but sadly uttering bullshit all day isn't an Olympic sport yet
— The-Lying-Lama ?? (@KyaUkhaadLega) August 8, 2016
Not even worth a selfie. If scaring babies was Olympic sport, @DeShobhaa would strike gold! https://t.co/NLNEOtR6Jh pic.twitter.com/7KjQQGAipl
— Nishant Gambhir (@madnish30) August 8, 2016