I-League 2017: Minerva Punjab gets trolled after claiming to be the only club with a female physio

What's the story?

I-League table-toppers Minerva Punjab FC were handed a blow on Twitter when they claimed that the club's first team physio, Priyanka Bhodke, was the only female physiotherapist plying the trade among India's top clubs.

Minerva's official Twitter handle tweeted a picture with the message that the club believes in girl power and that they are proud to be the only club in the country to provide a woman with the opportunity. However, what followed was a little reality check.

In case you didn't know...

Minerva Punjab have been enjoying an astonishing start to their I-League campaign and are currently leading the race for the national league title with 13 points from 5 games. Khogen Singh's men are yet to taste defeat in the competition and have also won their last 4 games on the spin ever since holding Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 draw in their first game.

Despite being one of the meanest defences in the league, Minerva had no room for cover as they were taken for a toss on Twitter when they tried to establish their presence on social media.

Heart of the matter

The tweet from the club read as follows:

We're proud to be #TheOnlyIndianClub to have a Female Physiotherapist for The First Team ? #ShePower #chakdephatte pic.twitter.com/n8wbdt3Gyy

— MINERVA PUNJAB FC (@Minerva_AFC) December 24, 2017

However, the response that followed was not so pleasant for the club and they were given a fact-check as one of the users came up with a list of names that begged to differ.

Shana Miranda - Churchill Brothers.Lena Fallqvist - FC Pune City. Kruti Parekh - Air India. Sweta Manerikar (Now married to Arata Izumi) - Pune FC. And possibly a few more. Congrats to Priyanka, but she is not the 'only' one. #IndianFootball https://t.co/CxiBuZ8d86

— Atanu Mitra (@Atanu00) December 25, 2017

The list included 4 other names who were associated with the same duties at different Indian clubs and shed some light into the topic which was relatively uknown to many football fans in the country.

What next?

Minerva Punjab will be looking to shake off their set-back on Twitter with their performance on the pitch when they take on defending champions Aizawl FC at home on Wednesday.

Author's take

The incident proved yet again that there is no room for factual errors at this particular time of the age and it is sure to teach everyone behind Minerva's Twitter handle a lesson for the good.