It makes me nervous: Sunil Chhetri on Padma award
New Delhi, Jan 26: India skipper Sunil Chhetri on Saturday said being in the elite list of former footballers to be honoured with the Padma award makes him a bit "nervous" and brings "extra pressure" to strive for excellence.
Chhetri, the second highest goal-getter (among current players) in international football after Cristiano Ronaldo, was among the nine sports persons to be honoured with the Padma Shri award.
"At the moment, it's just pure happiness. It hasn't sunk in as yet. I need some time to feel it. I need some time to understand what the recognition actually means," said Chhetri.
"Every person has flaws, so do I. I understand it and strive to be a better version of myself a better human being. I feel I need to set a better example to others.
"On that perspective, I am loving that extra pressure which has come with this Padma Shri announcement."
He became only the sixth footballer after the Late Gostho Paul, the Late Sailen Manna, PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami and Bhaichung Bhutia to be honoured with the prestigious award.
"I am aware of the aura all of them possess. It was my dad who had educated me about their exploits much before I became a professional player. Being in the same club as them is a feeling which I can't express, it can make you nervous," Chhetri said.
"Look at that list the late Gostho Paul, the late Sailen Manna, PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami and Bhaichung-bhai. They are all legends. To be in that same list is an honour for me. It gives me goosebumps.
"It is also a reminder to me on what I need to do, all in my effort to improve every minute as a footballer."
Chhetri said it will motivate him to work harder as a player.
"As a player, I need to keep working hard. There's no alternative to that. No award can make you a better player unless you strive to be one," he said.
"But yeah, this is an added motivation for me. This Award will surely spur me on, to maybe, be the hungrier, fittest and the sharpest among all in my team.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
