After Going Viral For 140kg Lift, Indian Powerlifter Keyaa Banerji Reveals Disturbing Online Abuse

Indian powerlifter Keyaa Banerji© X (Twitter)

Indian powerlifter Keyaa Banerji grabbed headlines along with her sensational efficiency on the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Basic Powerlifting Championships. The 21-year-old lifted 140kg, greater than 3 times her physique weight, to win a silver medal within the deadlift occasion for India. Whereas social media was crammed with reward for Banerji, she revealed a darker aspect to her newfound fame, saying that her achievement additionally led to on-line sexual harassment, impersonation, and AI-generated photographs made utilizing her face and physique. She revealed her expertise by way of her Instagram tales.

“I just lately gained a deadlift silver medal at IPF Jr Worlds for India and whereas I recognize the help and recognition, as an Indian feminine athlete I’ve additionally needed to cope with sexual harassment on-line, accounts impersonating me, disturbing conversations surrounding my ethnicity, ancestry and caste, and the Worst – hundreds of AI generated photographs of me with footage of my physique and face morphed and edited in very disturbing methods – it is fairly unnerving to be waking up on a regular basis to my feed (and the feeds of each single individual I do know) flooded with these faux AI footage,” Keyaa Banerji wrote on Instagram.

Banerji went on to say that she has all the time been a personal individual and never somebody who shared lots of footage on social media. In consequence, seeing herself being “all over the place” has proved to be a really troublesome expertise.

“I’ve all the time been a personal individual, and should you’ve recognized me in any capability / adopted my previous account, you’d know I by no means posted footage on it both! It solely acquired extra annoying when Instagram suspended my previous account (a personal account with 300 followers), therefore, I’ve made this new one. I did not wish to make it public, however I am left with no alternative if I wish to have a say in a story about my very own sport and accomplishments and arise for myself with out getting my account suspended once more!”

“The aim of my sport in my life is simply to problem myself in a enjoyable approach and I am grateful to be competing on the stage that I’m. I by no means wished to see myself all over the place like this, in-fact I actually despised all these AI posters popping up with out my consent,” she wrote on the Instagram story.