The image of a distraught Indian hockey captain Sreejesh sitting alone after a goal by Germany three seconds before the full-time whistle broke millions of Indian hearts. But one. Writer Shobhaa De, known for her merciless takedowns, was unsparing of athletes who were giving everything they had in Rio.
While most of us kept awake late into Sunday night hoping for three unassuming girls to bring us some glory in archery, or did our own version of a somersault after Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian to reach the final of any gymnastics event, Ms De had zero team spirit.
I wonder what it takes to even talk or think like this when the rest of the country has for once united with national pride. Neither am I convinced that this was directed at the officials who accompanied the team and chose to travel business class while sending our athletes in economy.
It is also doubtful that Ms De personally financed any player on the team, or has ever played much of a sport; else, she would have had at least an inkling of how athletes have no semblance of a normal life when they train for the Olympics. But it is easy to give
gyaan sitting in air-conditioned rooms far away from wrestling
akharas or dilapidated facilities.
Abhinav Bindra, whose own Olympic dreams were shattered - he missed the bronze medal by a whisker in the men's 10m air rifle - also issued a reprimand.
Admittedly, it hasn't been the best start by us but I will continue to wake up in the morning expecting some magic from our sportsmen, many of whom have come from extremely humble backgrounds. Instead what Ms De did was trivialize every sacrifice they and their families have made and pushed our thinking back by years. People like her are a big reason why, for decades, we never had a sporting culture.
An Indian athlete wins in spite of our cricket obsession and despite our system of power-hungry
babus and shoddy infrastructure. Ms De's parochial mindset it seems is only interested in being a part of the good times.
This was her tweet on Sunday evening.
Maybe more than a few feel the same about your writing Ms De! If you have nothing nice to say, sometimes it really is better not to say anything.
Instead of making a mockery of our athletes maybe she should consider how they reached where they have in the first place, how winning isn't always everything and for us most of them are already winners. Wonder if she knows that Dattu Bhokanal, the 23-year-old rower who qualified for the quarter-finals has a mother back home who is seriously unwell and sinking. Or that the father of the women's hockey team captain is a cart-puller. Forget selfies, they should be doing the samba for what they have achieved.
Ms De on the other hand should be sticking to what she does best, celebrity air kissing and dissing. Only the frivolous will find it humourous, because when the chips are down and all that you have worked for in the last four years comes to nought, like Jitu Rai, Abhinav Bindra or any of the others in Rio, then it is our duty to remind our sportsmen and women that they are still champions and will always be.
Thank you, Sachin Tendulkar, for doing just that.
(Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava worked with NDTV for more than a decade and now writes on a variety of topics for several news organisations.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.