Saina Nehwal slams online trolls after javelin throw comment criticism: 'Easy to comment while sitting at home'

India badminton legend Saina Nehwal has hit back at trolls after she was subjected to online abuse following a podcast in which she revealed being unaware of the javelin throw sport until Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Fans mocked Nehwal for her lack of knowledge and was also compared to Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut.

“When Neeraj won [the Tokyo gold in 2021], that’s when I got to know there is such an event in athletics,” Saina had said on the podcast.

After social media criticism and comparisons to Ranaut for her lack of knowledge, Nehwal said that it’s easy to troll an athlete but difficult to play, also recalling how she performed on the court and became world No.1.

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Thanks for the compliment.. Kangana is beautiful…but I had to be perfect in my sport and I proudly achieved world number 1 and Olympic medal in badminton for my country …again I will say this ghar pe bait ke comment karna easy hai and sports khelna difficult 😁Neeraj is our… https://t.co/mAjW10X4d1

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) August 13, 2024

“Thanks for the compliment.. Kangana is beautiful…but I had to be perfect in my sport and I proudly achieved world number 1 and Olympic medal in badminton for my country …again I will say this ghar pe bait ke comment karna easy hai and sports khelna difficult (it’s easy to comment while sitting at home, playing sports is difficult). Neeraj is our super star and he made the sport so popular in India,” she wrote on X.

The online trolling of Nehwal is the latest in the case of public figures facing unnecessary scrutiny on social media merely for expressing their views or sharing their side of a story.