On 14th February, while the entire world was celebrating love in the wake of Valentine's Day, India was taken over by a state of mourning as its citizens bemoaned the loss of 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers who laid down their lives for the country in what is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir.

A 20-year-old suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, from the notorious terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) rammed his explosive-laden SUV into the CRPF convoy at Awantipora town in the Pulwama district. With about 80kg of explosives suspected to have been used, the blast blew one of the buses carrying CRPF personnel to smithereens, killing 40 soldiers and injuring others.

AP

The ghastly attack has, since, been condemned by politicians, celebrities and other bigwigs alike. There were also heartfelt messages posted on the social media from the sports icons of the country. Amid all the messages, Virat Kohli, too, voiced his displeasure at the cowardly attack and mourned the loss of Indian bravehearts.

To further show his respect to the CRPF personnel martyred in Pulwama, the Indian cricket captain also postponed the RP-SG 'Indian Sports Honours' which was to take place on 16th February. An initiative of the 'Virat Kohli Foundation' and Sanjiv Goenka's 'RP-SG Group', the 'Indian Sports Honours' is an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the excellence of sportspersons in the country.

The RP-SG Indian Sports Honours has been postponed. At this heavy moment of loss that we all find ourselves in, we would like to cancel this event that was scheduled to take place tomorrow.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) 15 February 2019

"The RP-SG Indian Sports Honours has been postponed. At this heavy moment of loss that we all find ourselves in, we would like to cancel this event that was scheduled to take place tomorrow," Kohli tweeted.

Sanjiv Goenka and @imVkohli are deeply pained at the recent unfortunate event in Pulwama and express their solidarity to the families of the Martyrs. They have hence decided to postpone the 2nd edition of the ISH which was scheduled for 16th Feb19 in Mumbai, to a later date.

— Indian Sports Honours (@sportshonours) 15 February 2019

"The RP-SG Indian Sports Honours that was supposed to happen tomorrow night has been postponed by Virat as a mark of respect to the CRPF jawans who were martyred at Pulwama by a tragic terror attack," the 'Virat Kohli Foundation' said in a statement. 

"The who's who of entertainment and sports industry were supposed to be present for the award ceremony. Every partner and all the sports stars and delegates associated with this award have been informed and communicated with, stating that hosting an event was unacceptable at this moment when India is mourning the death of its jawans," the statement further added.

Kohli's decision to postpone the event was further hailed by his fellow countrymen on the social media.

Kudos buddy . That would be great if @BCCI would be able to play a charity match and help such affected families #responbilitesMartyredFamilies

— suman Gorantla (@sumanGorantla_7) 15 February 2019

Great move!ð
Entire nation should condemn this heinous act.Its high time to retaliate the attack.This time we will not sit quietly.#PulwamaAttack #IndiaWantsRevenge

— ð®ð³àªà«àª¯à«àª¤àª¿ð®ð³ (@_sujyoti1) 15 February 2019

Thats the spirit and move my champ ð
Also please boycott Pakistan team whenever you get that opportunity. Cricket is not bigger than our country. ð

— Ross Taylor (@iRoshan_Rv) 15 February 2019

Thank you for doing the right thing. ðð»â¤ï¸

— saumya. (@dilsevirat18) 15 February 2019

Well Done Champ! So Proud Of You. ðð®ð³

— Juhi ð¸ (@muskaan15_) 16 February 2019

And respect for virat to take the decision to postpone the awards.. The kind of preparations that have to be done for such a prestigious award function are huge. Truly a leader @imvkohli
And condolences to families of martyrs..Such deep pain and sorrow, nation is going throughð

— lifeiscool (@xyz1906) 16 February 2019

Great move... Proud of you

— sonu mahi 7 (@SonuPan62748435) 15 February 2019