Bowing My Head in Reverence: Indian Sportspersons Salute Soldiers on 21st Kargil Vijay Diwas

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju lead Indian sportspersons in joining their country men and women to salute the valour and bravery of soldiers on the 21st anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas on Sunday.

"Today is #KargilVijayDivas and I salute the unconquerable courage and determination of our armed forces who protected our motherland. I pay homage to our brave martyrs," Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

Indian champions Paralympian Deepa Malik, who is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and also a precipitant of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, took to social media to salute the Indian Army.

"Bowing my head in reverence and remembrance of all the heroes of the Kargil war on the 21st Vijay Diwas today. A salute to our Armed Forces for their exemplary valour. Forever indebted to you," Deepa Malik tweeted.

PT Usha, known as the 'queen of Indian track and field' also tweeted saluting the Army.

"Our flag flies high not because of the wind but with the last breath of each soldier who sacrificed their lives protecting it. Remembering our brave soldiers on 21st Vijay Diwas," she tweeted.

Every year, July 26 is observed as Kargil Vijay Diwas, the day when Indian Army declared successful culmination of 'Operation Vijay', and establishing India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil conflict in 1999.

The Kargil war was declared over on July 26, 1999, after Indian soldiers pushed back the Pakistani troops, a bulk of them drawn from the neighbouring country's Northern Light Infantry, from the captured peaks. The day is observed as "Kargil Vijay Diwas" to commemorate India's victory in the war.

The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last 10 weeks. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed by the Chinese troops in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties, but is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35.