The National Sports Day is observed every year across India on August 29 to mark the birth anniversary of the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. On this occasion, President Pranab Mukherjee confers National Sports Awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratan Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on sports persons at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
The legendary hockey player was born on August 29, 1905 at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. He is widely considered as the greatest field hockey player of all time. He had started playing hockey only after joining the Army at the age of 16. He was famously known as ‘The Wizard’ for his superb ball control and had scored more than 1000 goals during his international career. He is mostly remembered for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning 3 Olympic gold medals in field hockey at 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1936 (Berlin).
The National Sports Day is celebrated throughout the country in various educational institutes as well sports academies. The day is celebrated by organizing a number of sports events and other programs to boost the sport scenario of the country. Some of the programs also distribute prizes to various budding sportsmen and sportsmen who had contributed a lot in the past. The celebration of this National Sports Day is mainly done in Punjab and Chandigarh.
Sports give us a sense of identity and national pride. To highlight the importance of this day and to attract the mass attention, national organizations like FICCI and AICPE are taking small steps to create awareness about sports in the country by helping and organizing National Sports Day. To highlight the importance of this day and to attract mass attention, FICCI and AICPE are making a sincere effort to create mass awareness about the importance of National Sports Day, and getting Schools, Colleges, Universities, Corporates and various Communities to go out and play at least one sport or do any fitness drills/physical activities.