Saina Nehwal says she was unaware about javelin until Neeraj Chopra's Tokyo Olympics win, gets slammed

Saina Nehwal's remarks, however, triggered a wave of criticism on social media.

Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal has stirred controversy after revealing that she was unaware of the javelin event in athletics until Neeraj Chopra's gold medal win at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In a recent interview with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, Nehwal admitted her lack of knowledge about the event, stating that she only learned about it when Chopra’s victory brought it into the spotlight.

"When Neeraj won, that is when I got to know about athletics has got this game too. You'll gain knowledge only when you see it, right? If you don't see, how will you know? I did not know about javelin throw. Frankly, I didn't know," Nehwal said.

Nehwal, who has represented India in badminton at three Olympic Games and secured a bronze medal in London 2012, acknowledged the limited scope for athletes to learn about other sports due to their focus on their own disciplines. “It's not that you don't want to know, but you're so busy in your own field, how much time do you get deep into something else. If not you'll have to Google everything non-stop. If you're perfect in your own field, that's more than enough,” she added.

Her remarks, however, triggered a wave of criticism on social media. Users expressed surprise at Nehwal's admission and shared their thoughts.

"Saina Nehwal actually said she didn’t know there was a sport called javelin in India? Like seriously she said that? a user questioned.

Another user commented, "I didn't know that Javelin is an Olympic Sport until Niraj Chopra won a medal. - Saina Nehwal. Entire India only knew Saina Nehwal because her name sounded similar to tennis sensation Sania Mirza."

"Very surprising that a sportsperson of Saina Nehwal's caliber should feign ignorance about javelin event!" a user remarked.

Saina Nehwal, who has been active in Indian politics since joining the BJP in 2020, continues to be a prominent figure in Indian sports.