Indian badminton player and former world number one Saina Nehwal responded to trolls who called her ‘Kangana Ranaut of sports’ following her remarks on the javelin competition.
Saina Nehwal recently faced backlash after admitting to being unaware of the javelin throw as a sport until Neeraj Chopra clinched a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics.
The three-time Olympian and badminton player commented on a podcast that sparked a backlash on social media. The former world number one badminton player, who secured a bronze medal for India in the London Olympics, said that she came to know about javelin only after Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
“When Neeraj won that’s when I got to know there is such an event in athletics,” Saina Nehwal remarked during the podcast.
The netizens were quick to respond as some questioned how a well-known athlete such as Saina Nehwal could be unaware of a significant Olympic competition, javelin.
Some social media users even dubbed the badminton player the “Kangana Ranaut of sports,” alluding to the actress who gained notoriety for her candid opinions.
Saina Nehwal was also very quick to respond to the criticism. Taking to X, (formerly Twitter), she posted, “Thanks for the compliment… Kangana is beautiful… but I had to be perfect in my sport and I proudly achieved world number 1 and an Olympic medal in badminton for my country.”
Saina Nehwal added, “Again I will say this: ‘Ghar pe bait ke comment karna easy hai, and sports khelna difficult (it is easy to comment while sitting at home but playing sports is difficult). Neeraj is our superstar and he made the sport so popular in India.”
