Alankrita Anand| The News Minute| July 4, 2014| 2.35 pm IST
The rate at which ‘outraged’ Indians are commenting on Maria Sharapova’s Facebook photos and videos is approximately 50 comments per minute. Clearly, still disgruntled, still enraged. It’s been a day and the comments have now crossed the one lakh mark.
Browsing though the comments, one notices a trend- the same people have posted the same comment on, say, five different photos. And what do most of the comments say- ‘Sachin (X 100)’ and ‘Who is Maria Sharapova’. Hundreds of users have chosen to use foul language and a wide array of abuses, their comments receiving likes from similar abusers. Many go on to describe Sachin’s greatness and compare it with Maria’s. As reported in an earlier article, some have even brought in debates on nationalism and racism. Read- Self proclaimed guardians of Sachin Tendulkar spam Maria Sharapova's Facebook with filth and abuse
A picture of Russian player Maria Kirilenko shaking hands with Sachin Tendulakar has also been amply used by some Sachin fans, claiming this was proof 'Maria' knows Sachin. (They circulated the picture as Maria Sharapova)
It’s not only comments that galore, Sachin fans (or fanatics) have also dedicated pages to their cause. Here’s a list:
1. Maria Sharapova v/s Sachin Tendulkar- 285+ likes
“Maria Sharapova we are just gonna screw you, we will show you the strength of our God.”
2. Hate Maris Sharapova, love Sachin- 64+ likes
“This page is dedicated to all those people who hate that Dumb Sharapova who said that she didn't know Sachin, Our GOD”.
3. Sachin Tendulkar is ur dad Maria Sharapova- 23+ likes
“It’s just to tell maria sharapova that who is Sachin Tendulkar”
These pages are replete with memes, quotes and comments, not only in English but also in vernacular languages.
Even on Twitter, Indians have been vocal about their concern with Sharapova. The Guardian, in a report, documents some of these tweets.
Pages dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar are also seeing comments saying ‘we love you, Sachin’ along with remarks on Sharapova’s alleged ignorance.
In this swarm of unbecoming comments, there are also those swimming against the tide, and struggling- a handful of Indians trying to find reason and logic and defending Sharapova. Unfortunately though, in terms of numerical strength, they are minuscule and negligible.