In an indirect reference to author Shobhaa De, who had mocked at the performance of Indian athletes, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has said that Sindhu has “destroyed so many ‘naysayers’” by a historic win at Rio Olympics.
Earlier this month, Shobhaa De had said that the Indian athletes had gone to Rio Olympics to take selfies and not to win medals. Her comments had invited angry response from top sportspersons, including star shooter Abhinav Bindra and Virendra Sehwag.
Taking a dig at Shobhaa De, Bachchan also said that Sindhu is not returning empty hands and that he would love to click a selfie with her.
T 2352 – #PVSindhu .. aap "khaali haath" nahein, medal leke wapas aa rahein hain .. aur hum aapke saath 'selfie' nikalne chahate hain !!
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) August 18, 2016
T 2352 – Never ever underestimate power of female gender ! #PVSindhu you have destroyed so many 'naysayers' .. you are the PRIDE of INDIA !
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) August 18, 2016
T 2352 – #PVSindhu …aapne 'bolne walon' ki bolti bund kar di .. karm bolta hai aur wo kabhi kabhi 'kalam' ko bhi hara deta hai ! BADHAI !!
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) August 18, 2016
hahaha .. Viru ji .. aapka sense of humour ne ek aur sixer maar diya Stadium ke bahar !! https://t.co/gsmFV4dPb6
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) August 18, 2016
Bilkul , isliye Shobha Na De aise kaam nahi karne chahiye https://t.co/LDyEPGRQI1
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 18, 2016
Taking to Twitter, Shobhaa De made fun at the performance of the Indian athletes, saying that they have to go to Rio to take selfies instead of winning medals.
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
“Goal of Team India at the Olympics: Rio jao (Go to Rio). Selfies lo (Take selfies). Khaali haat wapas aao (Return empty-handed). What a waste of money and opportunity,” she tweeted last night. Her comments did not go down well with some of the top athletes, who reacted angrily to her tweet.
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
Bindra, India’s sole individual Olympic gold medallist, responded, saying: “Shobhaa De, that’s a tad unfair. You should be proud of your athletes pursuing human excellence against the whole world.”
https://twitter.com/guttajwala/status/762733989052440576
Star women’s doubles shuttler Jwala Gutta also hit back angrily. “maybe things will change when the attitude of people like urself change!!!!???? #Proudindian #proudsportsperson,” wrote Jwala on her twitter handle.
a little harsh to belittle the hard work put in by our athletes …don't you think ?
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) August 8, 2016
Tennis player Somdev Devvarman added: “a little harsh to belittle the hard work put in by our athletes …don’t you think ?.” Former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha asked Shobhaa De to slog it out herself before commenting on the sportspersons.
