Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indian athletes to avoid distractions from social media activities, such as making reels, and to stay focused on their tournaments.
India sent a 117-member contingent to the Paris Olympics but returned home with six medals. The Indian contingent finished their campaign with one silver and five bronze medals, placing 71st in the medal tally. This was the joint-second-best performance by India in terms of number of medals won at the Paris Olympics 2024.
However, There were criticisms over the usage of social media by Indian athletes during the Paris Olympics, claiming to be the reason behind their underperformance at the quadrennial multi-sport event in the France capital. Indian runner Priyanka Goswami received a backlash citizens for posting an Instagram reel of her enjoying the AC after finishing 41st in the women's 20km racewalk.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi came up with the topic of athletes getting engaged and making reels during the important tournaments, especially like Paris Olympics.
"Aaj kal toh aap log toh dekh raha hu ki kaafi samay mobile pe theekte rehata hai. Aisa hai kya? Sahi hai mein joh bol raha hu. Reels dekhte aur banate hai. Kitne log joh reels bana rahe hai. Usse jitna door rahe utna aacha hai hi hai." PM Modi said during his interaction with Indian Olympians.
(These days, I see that you all spend a lot of time on your mobile phones. Is that true? I'm right in saying this. Watching and making reels. So many people are making reels. The farther you stay from it, the better it is.)
India men's hockey team Harmanpreet Singh revealed that he and his players decided not to use their mobile phones throughout the Paris Olympics.
"Sir actually I’d like to give a message that all our team had decided to not use mobile phones throughout the Olympics." Harmanpreet Singh while interaction with PM Modi.
"Whether we get good or bad comments, both affect the performance and our mindset was as a team to avoid social media." he added.
Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian hockey team clinched its second successive Olympic bronze medal with a 2-1 win over Spain. The Men in Blue hopes of winning a gold medal were dashed after losing to Germany. However, India had another shot at winning the medal and they did it by defeating Spain in the third-place playoff.
