India celebrates its National sports day on August 29 every year to spread awareness on the importance of sports and daily activities in everyone’s life and also to honor the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand, who was born on August 29, 1905.
This day is also known as the Rashtriya Khel Divas.
On this day athletes were awarded in National Sports Award (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, and Dhyanchand Award) by President of India.
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National sports day
National sports day celebrates on August 29 which is the birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand Singh.
He was named as ‘Chand’ due to his extraordinary sports skills. In 1936, he was the captain of the Indian Hockey team. He won 3 Olympic Gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936 during his sports career. Till date, he remains the only hockey player who has won Padma Bhushan award in 1956.
National Sports Award:
National Sports Awards are Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award and Dhyanchand Award, which awarded to sportspersons for their excellent work in their sports field.
About Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna:-
- It is the highest sporting honour in the c:o:
- This award is named after former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. It was instituted in 1991-92.
- In this award, a medal, a citation and 7.5 lakh rupees are given to the winner.
- Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand was the first recipient of the award. He was honoured for the performance in the year 1991–92.
About Arjuna Award:-
- National Arjuna Award was instituted in 1961, it is India’s second-highest sporting award after Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
- This award is named after “Arjuna”, a famous archer dating back to the times of the Mahabharata.
- Arjuna Award bestowed upon sportsperson for consistently outstanding performance for four years in National sports and international games (including Olympics, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games).
- Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports conferred this award.
- In this award bronze statue of Arjuna, a scroll and a monetary award of 5 lakh rupees are given to the winner.
- The first recipient of Arjuna Award was Krishna Das in the field of Archery in 1961.
- The first woman to get this award in 1962 was Meena Shah in the field of Badminton.
National Sports Day Dronacharya Award:-
- This Award was named after “Dronacharya”, who was a guru of Pandavas. He trained the Pandavas.
- It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
- It was given to coaches who have produced medal winners at prestigious national and international sports events.
- The winners of the award are presented a statue of Dronacharya, ceremonial dress and a certificate along with 5 lakh rupees a cash prize.
- The first recipients of the award were Bhalachandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (Wrestling), Om Prakash Bhardwaj(Boxing), O.M. Nambiar (Athletics) who were honoured in 1985.
About Dhyanchand Award:-
- It is the lifetime achievement sporting honour of the It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
- The award is named after legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand Singh
- Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured for their contributions to sport both during their active sporting career and after retirement.
- This award comprises a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹5 lakh.
- The first recipients of the award honoured in 2002.The Recipients
- were Shahuraj Birajdar (Boxing), Ashok Diwan (Hockey), and Aparna Ghosh (Basketball),
National Sports Award 2020 winner list pdf
Full list of National Sports Day Award winners 2019
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