Twitterati lash out at Shobha De for her controversial ‘Rio jao, Selfies lo’ tweet

Despite sending the biggest contingent for the ongoing Rio Olympics, the performance of Indian sportspersons has been a tad bit disappointing so far.

While no Indian sportsperson has completely dominated any event yet, the Olympics is far from over. In fact one of the most anticipated events, the vault final featuring gymnast Dipa Karmakar, is something millions are eagerly waiting for. Karmakar recently created history after becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics after a gap of 52 years.

But, as often is the case with sporting events, below par performances bring out either the best or worst in fans, and Olympics is no exception to the rule. While many continue to support the sportspersons irrespective of their performance, there are also those who have resorted to criticizing and ridiculing their efforts.

Prominent columnist and novelist, Shobha De, was one such fan who criticized the Indian contingent for their failure to secure a single medal. The columnist, who was rooting for gold medalist Abhinav Bindra as India’s best chance of securing a medal once again, took to her micro-blogging account after the shooter finished 4th in the 10m Air Rifle event.

A seemingly disappointed De, tweeted, “Goal of Team India at the Olympics: Rio jao. Selfies lo. Khaali haat wapas aao. What a waste of money and opportunity.”

Those who follow De on the micro-blogging platform would know that this isn’t the first time the author, who is known for her bold and unabashed statements, has stoked controversy with her tweets.

As expected, Twitter erupted following the 68-year-old’s tweet, and twitterati lashed out at the author for rebuking Indian athletes.

Here are some of the tweets that were addressed to De:

.@DeShobhaa Jaldi batao? pic.twitter.com/6unvgnmD3C

— Sand-d Singh (@Sand_In_Deed) August 8, 2016

.@DeShobhaa Congratulations m’am for this achievement after “I ate beef, come & xxx me”. I cud not resist this time pic.twitter.com/gHgC5H1RFr

— Shivam Shah (@SShivam34) August 8, 2016

Goal of a page 3 intellectual. Party karo. Photo khichwao. Khaali bakwaas karo. What a waste of paper. pic.twitter.com/GTOlDJLNvl

— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) August 8, 2016

Goal of @DeShobhaa : Porn books likho. Twitter pe bakwas pelo. Faltu oxygen ko carbondioxide main badlo. Wht a waste of space and human life

— Vande Mataram (@UnSubtleDesi) August 8, 2016

@DeShobhaa Goal of Shobha de on twitter : Online aao. Bina matlab ki baat karo. Gaali khao. Wapas ajao.

— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) August 8, 2016

.@DeShobhaa Ma’am, with undue respect, I feel u could’ve got us a gold medal, but sadly uttering bullshit all day isn’t an Olympic sport yet

— The-Lying-Lama ☔️ (@KyaUkhaadLega) August 8, 2016

Not even worth a selfie. If scaring babies was Olympic sport, @DeShobhaa would strike gold! https://t.co/NLNEOtR6Jh pic.twitter.com/7KjQQGAipl

— Nishant Gambhir (@madnish30) August 8, 2016

.@DeShobhaa I Know You’re Jealous Because People Of Your Country Couldn’t Qualify. 😉#Rio2016 #RioOlympics2016 #Olympics2016 #Olympics

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) August 8, 2016

Such a shameful tweet. For all the Page 3 stamps, so bloody classless. Chee. https://t.co/UxxJQS1vFN

— Divya (@divya_16_) August 8, 2016

Dear #ShobhaDe pic.twitter.com/yb5Z3I6VfW

— S (@CorporateKity) August 9, 2016