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National Sports Day

National Sports Day is celebrated in India on August 29th to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Dhyan Chand. It honors India's sporting heroes with awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Dhyan Chand was a legendary hockey player who helped India win gold medals at 3 consecutive Olympics from 1928-1936. He was given the nickname "The Wizard" for his incredible stick work. National Sports Day promotes fitness, sports and a healthy lifestyle especially among students.

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Senthil Nayagi
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298 views20 pages

National Sports Day

National Sports Day is celebrated in India on August 29th to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Dhyan Chand. It honors India's sporting heroes with awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Dhyan Chand was a legendary hockey player who helped India win gold medals at 3 consecutive Olympics from 1928-1936. He was given the nickname "The Wizard" for his incredible stick work. National Sports Day promotes fitness, sports and a healthy lifestyle especially among students.

Uploaded by

Senthil Nayagi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A PRESENTATION ON

NATIONAL SPORTS DAY

BY HARINI.U
7-B
AECS-1, KALPAKKAM
Why do we celebrate National
Sports Day?
The National Sports Day is celebrated to
commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey
legend Dhyan Chand Singh.

National Sports Day was included in the list of


celebratory days in India for the first time in
2012.

But there’s more. The National Sports Day is


also an occasion that sees the nation honour its
sporting heroes with recognitions like the Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand
Award and the Dronacharya Award.
Who is Dhyan Chand?

In a country that has reveres sporting superstars


like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Balbir Singh
 among others, hockey player Major Dhyan
Chand has reserved a special place for himself.

.
Born in Allahabad (Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh on August 29,
1905, as Dhyan Singh, he rose to prominence in the pre-
independence period

Star of the Indian hockey team that dominated the sport in


the years before World War II, Dhyan Singh played an
important role in helping India complete their first hat-
trick of Olympic gold medals with wins at the
1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics
Starting his hockey career with the
regimental team of the British Indian
Army, a young Dhyan Singh was a special
talent. But what made him stand out was
his dedication to his craft.
With most of the day spent in regimental duties, Dhyan
Singh would practice his hockey in the night under the
moonlight, a reason that earned him the name Dhyan
Chand (Chand means moon in Hindi).
He would rise through the ranks in the coming years,
helping his teams with the various inter-Army
matches, and soon be called up for the Indian hockey
team for the 1928 Olympics.

There would be no looking back from there as Dhyan


Chand went on to rule the world of hockey with his
delightful stick work and understanding of the game
that earned him the moniker of 'Hockey Wizard' and
'The Magician'.
The hockey legend’s career spanned from 1926 to 1948
and ended as one of the greatest hockey players of all
time after having represented India 185 matches and
scored over 400 goals during this period.
While he retired as a Major in the Punjab Regiment of the
Indian Army in 1956, the Indian government went on to
confer the Padma Bhushan - third-highest civilian award -
the same year. The National Sports Day is celebrated on
Dhyan Chand's birthday on August 29 to honour the
hockey legend.
National Sports Awards

Awarded by the central government, the National Sports


Awards is a recognition of an athlete’s contribution to their
discipline and the awards are conferred on National Sports
Day.

The highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, is


reserved for the outstanding performer, usually handed out
to the Olympic medallist in an Olympic year, and the Arjuna
Award recognises the achievements of the athletes in the
seasons gone by.
Dhyan Chand
(standing
second from
left) with the
Indian hockey
team at the
1936 Berlin
Olympics.
Photo:
Olympic
Archives.

A five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand
 

was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.


The Dronacharya Award, meanwhile, is conferred on the best coaches
in the country, including foreign coaches who have contributed to the
development of the sport in India. And the Dhyan Chand
Award recognises the lifetime contribution of an athlete in his field.

 While the Individual National Sports Federations (NSF) and the


athletes are free to file nominations for the awards, an award
committee constituted by the sports ministry takes it upon itself to
recommend potential awardees to the government.
Constituted in 1991, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna was first awarded to India’s first-ever
Grand Master and a five-time world chess
champion Viswanathan Anand
The Arjuna Award is the oldest among all with
the first award being handed out in 1961, while
the Dronacharya Award came into being in1985
Benefits of Sports for Students
This significant day is marked to spread
awareness about physical activity, sports,
and overall health. It is celebrated in
academic institutions and sports academies
by organising different types of fitness
drives and sports like hockey, football,
marathons, walkathons and so on.  Every
year, the day has a different theme. This
year the theme is Fit India, Young
India.  This year the theme emphasizes the
importance of sports and other physical
activities in order to build a Fit, Healthy,
and Youthful India.
Among this year's notable Arjuna awardees we have
Mohammed Anas Yahiya (athletics), Anjum Moudgil
(shooting), Ajay Thakur (kabaddi), Sai Praneeth
(badminton) and Swapna Barman(athletics) among others.

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