Indian powerlifter Keya Banerjee won the silver medal in deadlift at the 2026 IPF World Championships, which was a big achievement for her. He brought glory to the country, however after this he had to face harassment on social media.
Sports News: Indian powerlifter Keya Banerjee performed brilliantly at the 2026 IPF World Championships and won the silver medal in deadlift. After this big achievement in the sports field, she faced increasing popularity on social media, but along with it she also became a victim of online harassment and AI-generated fake pictures. The 21-year-old athlete shared his ordeal through a social media post and said that his identity, photographs and personal information were allegedly misused.
Won silver medal in 47 kg category
Keya Banerjee represented India at the IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships held in Sun City, South Africa in August 2026. In the Junior Women’s 47 kg category, she won the silver medal in deadlift by lifting 140 kg. Keya’s total score in the competition was 280 kg. He lifted 90 kg in squat and 50 kg in bench press.
This performance is included in the important achievements of his career. However, the additional recognition she received on social media after winning the medal was not limited to a positive experience for her.
Mentioned about fake accounts and AI pictures
Keya revealed through Instagram Stories that she faced online sexual harassment. He claimed that fake social media accounts were created in his name and objectionable discussions related to his identity were made online. The athlete expressed his most serious concern regarding the alleged fake pictures created with the help of AI. According to her, such pictures were created by morphing or editing her face and body, which upset her a lot. He said such content was visible not only to him, but also in the social media feeds of his acquaintances.
In her post, Keya explained that as an Indian female athlete, she faced online harassment as well as harassing conversations about her ethnicity, race and caste.
‘I like to keep my life private’
Keya also told that she does not like to share too many pictures related to her personal life on social media. According to her, people following her old account would know that she did not post too many pictures on social media earlier also. He told that his problems increased further after his old Instagram account was suspended.
After this he created a new account. According to Keya, she did not want to make this account public, but she had to do so to make people aware about her game and achievements.
Questions raised on online safety of female athletes
Keya Banerjee’s experience also draws attention to the wider problem of female athletes’ images and identities being misused on social media. With the rapid spread of AI technology, the use of deepfakes and morphed images has also become a serious digital security challenge. On one hand, while social media gives players a platform to showcase their achievements directly to fans, on the other hand, problems like fake accounts, identity theft, cyber harassment and AI-generated content can increase mental and social pressure for them.