On August 29, India celebrates National Sports Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, who was an integral part of 1928, 1932, and 1936 Olympics Gold medal-winning squad.
Taking to twitter, PM Modi recalled the stellar feats of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand and tweeted that his magic with the hockey stick can never be forgotten.The PM added that the day should also honour and laud the relentless support rendered by families, coaches and support staff towards the success of an athlete.
President Ram Nath Kovind will confer top sporting honours to 60 out of the 74 athletes who have been nominated for the this year.The award award ceremony will be a virtual one for the very first time and is slated to commence at 11 am. Out of the 14 athletes who will give the ceremony a miss are wrestler Vinesh Phogat who contracted Covid-19 and Indian opener Rohit Sharma who is in the UAE with Mumbai Indians for the team's preparations ahead of the thirteenth of the Indian Premier League.
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5 outstanding sportspersons who achieved stellar success in their chosen sporting discipline and brought laurels to the nation have been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and 27 for the Arjuna Award.
The Sports Ministry approved the names of cricketer Rohit Sharma, para-athlete Mariappan Thangavelu, table tennis paddler Manika Batra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and hockey player Rani Rampal for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju, President of the Indian Olympic Association Narendra Dhruv Batra and several other dignitaries will attend the ceremony from Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
The awardees will attend the ceremony from various places across the country--Bengaluru, Pune, Sonepat, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Itanagar. The Ceremony will be launched at 11 am.
Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years preceding the award; Arjuna Award is given for consistent outstanding performance for four years.
Dronacharya Award goes to the coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events; Dhyan Chand Award is for life time contribution to sports development and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.