Thursday 12 December 2013

Olympics 2012: Is media hype killing players’ performances?

Friday, 03 August 2012 16:14

The other day it was Indian archer Deepika Kumari, today, it’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal; tomorrow it might be any other Indian player in the ongoing London Olympics 2012. The hype caused by the Indian media is perhaps why Indians are crashing out from the Games, opine critics.
The teenager archer Deepika prior to her event was so hyped by the media that she succumbed to nervousness and could not contribute anything to India’s scarcity of medal in London. Perhaps, she was too pressurised to win an Olympic medal. Everyone was looking upto her with their expecting eyes. May be, the over-expectation in her due to media’s hype has led to the sorrow of many. When Deepika was walking off after the failure, she was surrounded by ever curious paparazzis. She told media, “I didn’t know what was happening. But when I realised, the match was over.” Coming at her rescue, her coach said: “Please spare the kid. She is in pain due to your unreasonable hype.”
Similarly, the famous Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal too lost in straight sets in the semi-final match against China’s Yihan Wang who unfortunately is World No. 1. The previous day, Indian media was going gaga over Saina’s entry into the semi-finals. Breaking all the facts, the media hyped about the shuttler’s performance and concluded that she could beat anyone with the momentum she had been playing here in the Games. Though word of encouragement is reasonable, yet saying that she could win any game is just not done.
“Continuing its sensationalism, Indian media is leaving no stone unturned to hype our players at the London Olympic leading to pressurising the contestants. That’s not fair. Perhaps, it’s the reason why our players are crashing out from the Games,” said Rose Chand, a media critic.
Nevertheless, blaming media for under-performance of the players is too unjustified as it’s the media that is giving information to the public of each and every participant and their performance in the London Olympics.

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