As Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India on Friday evening, the countryโs athletes took to Twitter to welcome the Indian Air Force pilot back and laud his courage in the face of fire. Abhinandan’s MiG-21 Bison was shot down on Wednesday, and he was consequently captured by Pakistani troops. He had engaged with a Pakistan Air Force F-16 aircraft after it had violated Indian airspace over Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had announced on Thursday that Varthaman would be released as a โ peace offering โ. Current and former India cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Irfan Pathan were among the first to take to the social networking site to applaud his courage, while India hockey captain Rani Rampal also tweeted to welcome the IAF pilot back. Varthaman's return caused widespread celebrations among Indians on Twitter. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which launched a new jersey for the 2019 ICC World Cup on Friday , also posted a heartwarming image of a jersey with Varthamanโs name at the back.
#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come ๐ฎ๐ณ #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/PbG385LUsE
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 1, 2019
Even the All India Football Federation heaped praise on Varthaman for being a source of inspiration.
Welcome back home, Wing Commander Abhinandan! Your courage is an inspiration for all of us. ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ป#JaiHind #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 1, 2019
Here are a few selected tweets from Indiaโs sporting fraternity:
A hero is more than just four letters. Through his courage, selflessness and perseverance, OUR HERO teaches us to have faith in ourselves.#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 1, 2019
Jai Hind ๐ฎ๐ณ
Real Hero. I bow down to you. Jai Hind ๐๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ณ pic.twitter.com/kDgocwpclA
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 1, 2019
We all are proud of your courage Wing Commander Abhinandan!
— Rani Rampal (@imranirampal) March 1, 2019
Welcome back home. #WelcomeHomeAbinandan
The nation salutes your valour , selflessness and grit. #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan ๐ pic.twitter.com/N432Qk2ajT
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 1, 2019
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan also tweeted “recognising the humanitarian gesture”.
Our brave pilot #Abhinanadan after having ejected on d other side of d boarder n being in thr captivity is back home.We r proud of u n all our armed https://t.co/Ify1t0VAmt dis escalated situation between d2 countries,also would like 2 recognize d humanitarian gesture #JaiHind
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 1, 2019
A big salute to wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman #Abhinandan. He is the real hero #Hero. A very big salute to the defence team & IAF on the successful surgical strike. Great respect #respect to our PM Narendramodi ji @narendramodi.#JaiHind #Peace #Salute #IAF #Bravery. pic.twitter.com/RUvCZsha7w
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) March 1, 2019


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