Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Thursday said he will be handing over his Twitter account to ‘real-life captains’ who are working for Covid-19 relief and started the process with a journalist from Bengaluru.
India on Thursday set yet another record with 3,79,257 new coronavirus cases, pushing the overall infection count since the pandemic broke out in January 2020 to 1,83,76,524. This is the highest ever one-day rise in cases reported by any country so far and the eighth straight day when India has recorded more than 3 lakh cases.
In a video posted on his Twitter account on Thursday, the 36-year-old had said he wanted to join the fight along with those helping with finding relief on the social media platform.
Sunil Chhetri’s video message:
“Our country is going through difficult times. The pain, suffering, loss all around us is depressing and tragic. Amidst all of this, there are so many of us who have come forward and helped; helped each other and helped complete strangers.
“We all need to participate. No matter who you are, help in whichever way you can. Among all these people, there are some real-life captains who are doing some extraordinary, phenomenal work. They give me hope. They give me a lot of motivation. And I want to join.
“I want to give access to my Twitter account to a few of these captains so that their important information can be amplified and can reach as many as possible. Guys, I’m on your team.”
Chhetri then handed over his Twitter handle to a journalist for sharing Covid-19 resources.
“As promised, I’ll be handing my Twitter account to some of the real-life heroes over the coming weeks, to try and help them get their messages of support and relief to a wider audience. The first takeover will be by Prajwal Manipal, who is a journalist with The News Minute in Bengaluru, and is doing some phenomenal work on the ground to aid with verified resources and leads in what are difficult times for all of us.
“I had a chat with Prajwal earlier today, and we’re both really excited to get this underway. Going ahead, all Tweets signed ‘PB’ will be from him and I hope his voice is heard louder with the help of the community that we’ve created on Twitter, together. Over to you, Prajwal,” he signed off.
Chhetri himself had recovered from Covid-19 recently, he had said on 28 March days after testing positive for the infection that ruled him out of the international friendlies against Oman and the UAE.
The development came on the eve of India’s second international friendly against UAE in Dubai, from which he has already been ruled out.
“Got an all-clear from the tests and couldn’t be happier to get back on the pitch (I missed it bad!). Grateful for all the kind messages that came in, wishing me a speedy recovery. Importantly, I’d want everyone to stay safe and mask up at all times,” Chhetri had tweeted.
He had tested positive for coronavirus on March 11 and posted about it on Twitter.
“In a not-so-happy update, I’ve tested positive for Covid-19. In better news, I feel fine as I continue my recovery from the virus and should be back on a football pitch soon,” Chhetri had then tweeted. “No better time to keep reminding everyone to continue taking all the safety precautions always,” he had added.
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