When India returned from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games with 39 medals, the athletes were greeted with garlands, media interviews and seats beside ministers. Yet the celebration that follows a podium finish often depends on whether a state’s sports department continues to tell those stories. An audit of official social‑media accounts across 20 Indian states and union territories shows a striking divide between those that keep medalists in the public eye and those that have gone silent.
Haryana and Manipur: Sparse updates despite success
Haryana produced the highest haul of medals at Glasgow – eleven in total, including seven gold, two silver and two bronze across boxing, wrestling, athletics and para sport. The most recognizable name was Neeraj Chopra, whose silver in javelin will be replayed for years. Other winners such as Preeti Pawar, Jaismine Lamboria, Sakshi Chaudhary, Priya Ghanghas, Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal trained in government facilities and under state schemes. Despite the achievements, the Sports Department of Haryana’s official X (formerly Twitter) account posted only once in 2026, sharing a flyer for music acts at the Chief Minister’s Cup. Facebook and Instagram showed a similar pattern: a brief burst of activity around the same event and then nothing further. No dedicated post highlighted any of the eleven medalists.
Manipur, the home state of Olympic weight‑lifting star Mirabai Chanu, contributed four Commonwealth Games medalists this cycle – Chanu’s gold, along with Rishikanta Singh, Bindyarani Devi and Jadumani Singh. Yet the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports’ X account has not posted since an October 2023 “Run for Unity” event, predating the recent medals. Its Facebook page offered only occasional updates, and the Instagram account logged just two posts since January. The gap suggests a lapse in the state’s digital storytelling, leaving aspiring athletes without visible role models from their own region.
Tamil Nadu and other active states
In contrast, Tamil Nadu’s sports handles are bustling. The accounts post multiple times a day, celebrating the state’s three medalists – Praveen Chithravel, Selva Prabhu and Muthupandi Raja – while also highlighting athletes from other regions. Every medallist received a dedicated post, ensuring that a child training in long jump or wrestling can see a clear pathway to success. Similar vigor is evident in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka (on Facebook and Instagram), Assam, Bihar and Tripura, where departments consistently share athlete stories, training updates and scheme announcements.
Kerala does not maintain a separate X handle, but its Facebook and Instagram pages remain lively, giving due recognition to silver medalists Murali Sreeshankar and Mohammed Basil. Andhra Pradesh mirrors this rhythm across all three platforms, providing regular visibility for its athletes.
Punjab’s activity sits somewhere in the middle. Its X account posted only two messages in 2026 – New Year’s and Republic Day greetings – while Facebook and Instagram offered more frequent content about coaching clinics and departmental meetings, though athletes rarely topped the feed. Uttarakhand was active in the previous year, focusing on government scheme announcements on Facebook and posting at least two Instagram updates around the Games before its 2026 activity cooled.
Maharashtra has dedicated posts for wrestlers Sarvesh Kushare and Dilip Gavit, with Instagram maintaining a fairly regular cadence. Karnataka’s X account has been silent since March 2024, when it shared an unrelated cultural‑team event, yet its Facebook and Instagram remain warm and attentive to Commonwealth Games medalists.
Why social media matters for grassroots sport
The disparity matters beyond mere courtesy. A state sports department’s feed is one of the cheapest, most direct tools to inspire the next generation. When a teenager in a dusty schoolyard sees a post celebrating a medalist from the same district, the abstract idea of “sports as a career” becomes concrete. Visibility also influences funding: sponsors, corporate partners and even state finance ministries often allocate resources based on demonstrable public interest, which a vibrant social feed can readily provide.
Conversely, silence can send a message that grassroots sport is not a priority, even when a state has just produced a world‑stage medallist. Uttar Pradesh, for example, fielded a rare double‑medallist – Gulveer Singh earned both silver and bronze – but its two official handles on three platforms offered little beyond reposts, and the sister account Sports Directorate, Government of Uttar Pradesh, posted nothing at all in 2026. Delhi does not operate a dedicated sports account on any major platform, meaning gold‑medallist Harsh Singh and bronze‑medallist Tejaswin Shankar receive no institutional amplification; their achievements are absorbed into general city‑government updates.
Rajasthan presents perhaps the starkest illustration. The state’s last Facebook post dates to 14 April 2012, and its X account’s most recent original content predates a March 2021 retweet. There is no Instagram presence, and the parallel Rajasthan State Sports Council handle is only marginally more active. Arundhati Choudhary’s Commonwealth gold and other successes over the past fourteen years have not found a home on the platforms meant to broadcast them.
These findings underline a simple truth: consistent, athlete‑focused social media activity can nurture a sporting culture, while neglect can erode it. As states plan for the 2026 Commonwealth Games campaign, the digital spotlight they choose to shine – or not – could shape the pipeline of talent emerging from villages, schools and local clubs across the country.
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