Mumbai: It is no surprise that the Hindi flick ‘3 Idiots’ was inspired by Five Point Someone authored by Chetan Bhagat. Bhagat looked like an idiot on Tuesday on social media after he declared that he has grown up believing India has no chance in singles tennis on the international level.
The outrageous comment came as he cheered India's Sumit Nagal who made an impressive Grand Slam debut, winning the first set against Roger Federer 6-4 and then stretching the legend to four sets in the opening round of US Open.
For the record and one hopes Bhagat is reading this, Nagal is the fourth Indian after Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni to win a set in the main draw of a Grand Slam in 20 years.
But ignorant Bhagat promptly tweeted, “Grew up being told that India has no chance in singles tennis at the global level. Just now Nagal Sumit from my country won a set against The Roger Federer in the US Open. One day, India will win the Grand Slam too. Go Sumit Go!”
No sooner had Bhagat revealed his half-baked knowledge, tweeple latched onto him. Taking him on, Veena D said, “Day by day your IQ level is deteriorating chota chetan, Chetan Bhagat, Try to avoid interacting with CHADDIS too much. I hope someone had told U about Amritraj, Leander Paes, Sania Mirza.”
A sports enthusiast and spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, Clyde Crasto, delved into history and gave a chronology of India’s feats in tennis.
“Who told you that, Chetan Bhagat? Please tell the person, Amritraj beat Bjorn Borg in the second round at US Open 1974, Leander won India's first individual Olympic medal in 44 years at 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the list is long...
My Country has always had a global presence in Tennis,” wrote Crasto. Vijay Amritraj first made a splash in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and in the US Open.
Amritraj beat Bjorn Borg in the second round in the US Open in 1974 before losing to Rosewall in quarter-finals. Amritraj had also beaten John McEnroe and had five career wins over Jimmy Connors.
Obviously, Bhagat seemed blissfully unaware of this information and was targeted by satirists who blamed his memory lapse to his political allegiance to the government.
“Chetan ko 2014 se pehle ka kuch yaad nahi hai, Bechaara,” said Pradeep Gupta. (Chetan’s memory, prior to 2014, has blanked out.) A columnist Jas Oberoi cited Martin Luther King Jr to expose Bhagat’s ignorance.
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity — Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Oberoi. Fedrer won the match and did not hesitate to appreciate Nagal’s talent. “I think he knows what he can bring.
That’s why I think he’s going to have a very solid career. But, of course, it’s not the game that comes out with the biggest surprises. It’s really consistent. I think he did it very well tonight.”
Immediately after the match, the US open appreciated the Indian’s efforts. “We know this isn't the last we'll see of Sumit Nagal... Remember the name,” said US Open and concluded with a wink emoticon.
