National Sports Day is annually observed on 29th August to commemorate the birth anniversary of Indian Hockey Legend Major Dhyan Chand Singh. The day is celebrated to create awareness among the general public on the importance of sports and to attract attention towards sports in India.
Background:
i.The Government of India decided to celebrate the 29th August of every year as the National Sports Day in 2012
ii.Dhyan Chand, was born on 29th August 1905 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Celebration of National Sports Day 2020:
i.The celebration of the National Sports Day is organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where the sports related awards like Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award are distributed.
ii.The Sports Authority of India hosted the first virtual National Sports and Adventure Award ceremony during National Sports Day 2020.
iii.60 out of 74 awardees attended the virtual ceremony conducted across the 11 Sports Authority of India(SAI) centres in different centres and received the honours from President Ram Nath Kovind.
Click here to know about the awardees
Key People:
Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Narendra Dhruv Batra, President of the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) and other dignitaries will attend the ceremony from Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
Key Points:
On 29th August 2020, Kiren Rijiju announced a hike in 4 of the seven categories of the National Sports and Adventure Awards.
i.The prize money of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was increased from Rs.7.5 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh.
ii.Arjuna Award has been increased from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.15 Lakh.
iii.The lifetime Dronacharya Award was increased from Rs.5 Lakh to Rs.15 lakh and regular Dronacharya Award was increased to Rs.10 lakh from Rs.5 lakh.
iv.Dhyan Chand Awardees will be given 10 lakh rupees instead of 5 lakh rupees.
Events:
i.To celebrate the National Sports Day 2020, Physical Education Foundation of India (PEFI) and Fit India Movement organised a 10 day run – “PEFI-Fit India Movement Run” from 29th August 2020 to 7th September 2020 across India. The concept of the run is “It can be run anywhere, anytime.
ii.The runners who submit the run data through a GPS based device from 29th august -7th September 2020 will receive an e-certificate.
About Dhyan Chand Singh:
i.Dhyan Singh started his hockey career with the regimental team of British Indian Army.
ii.He was internationally known as “Wizard of Hockey” and “The magician” for his outstanding skills with the stick.
iii.He was the Captain of Indian Hockey team during the 1936 summer Olympics at Berlin.
iv.He passed away on 3rd December 1979 at the age of 74 in New Delhi.
Achievements:
i.Representing India he made 400 international goals in 185 matches during his professional hockey career from 1926 to 1948.
ii.He was a part of the three-time Olympic gold medalist Indian Hockey Team with wins at the Summer Olympics of 1929 at Amsterdam, the first ever gold medal of Indian Hockey team at Olympic followed by 1932 games at Los Angeles and 1936 games at Berlin.
Honours:
i.The Government of India Honoured him with Padma Bhusan, the third highest civilian award in 1956.
ii.Indian Postal Department paid tribute to Major Dhyan Chand Singh and issued stamps in his honour in 1979.
iii.The National Stadium of Delhi was renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in 2002.
About Sports Authority of India(SAI):
Director General– Sandip Pradhan
Executive Director– Anjan Kumar Mishra
Head Office– Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi
