On August 29,2019, National Sports Day was observed across the country to create awareness about sports in public. August 29, 2019 marks the 114th birth anniversary of India’s hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand.
About Dhyan Chand:
- He was the key member of Indian hockey team which earned 3 Olympic gold medals in Hockey games i.e in 1928 (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1932 (Los Angeles, United States) and 1936 (Berlin, Germany).
- He was honored with Padma Bhushan by the Government of India (GoI) in the year 1956 for his great contribution to the field of Indian Hockey.
Modi launches nation-wide ‘Fit India’ Movement
- On August 29, 2019, Prime Minister (PM) Shri Narendra Modi has launched a nation-wide ‘Fit India’ Movement on the occasion of National Sports Day in New Delhi.
- He urged the people to head the Fit India campaign &stated that this initiative is the need of the hour & will take India towards a healthier future by preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension.
- He also congratulated all sportspersons on the occasion of National Sports Day.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2018 Announced
- The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards, the highest national awards for adventure sports was announced by the Government on August 27, 2019.
- The award is in 4 category which includes land, water, air adventure &lifetime achievements.
- Totally 6 awardees were felicitated by the President of India Ramnath Kovind along with other Sports Awardees at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th August 2019.
The list of awardees who felicitated by the President are as follows,
| Sl. No | Name | Category |
| 1 | Ms. Aparna Kumar | Land Adventure |
| 2 | Late Shri Dipankar Ghosh | Land Adventure |
| 3 | Shri Manikandan K. | Land Adventure |
| 4 | Shri Prabhat Raju Koli | Water Adventure |
| 5 | Shri RameshwerJangra | Air Adventure |
| 6 | Shri Wangchuk Sherpa | Life Time Achievement |
President Ramnath Kovind gave away National Sports Awards 2019
On August 29,2019, President of India Ramnath Kovind gave away the national sports awards in New Delhi.
The full list of National Sports Awards 2019 winners is as follows
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award:
| S.No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Sh. Bajrang Punia | Wrestling |
| 2. | Ms. Deepa Malik(The first Paralympian to receive the prestigious honour.) | Para Athletics |
About Khel Ratna Award: This award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of 4 years. Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh.
Arjuna Award: It was awarded to 19 sportspersons for 2019.
| S.No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Sh. Tajinderpal Singh Toor | Athletics |
| 2. | Mohammed Anas Yahiya | Athletics |
| 3. | Sh. S. Bhaskaran | Body Building |
| 4. | Ms. Sonia Lather | Boxing |
| 5. | Sh. Ravindra Jadeja | Cricket |
| 6. | Sh. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam | Hockey |
| 7. | Sh. Ajay Thakur | Kabaddi |
| 8. | Sh. Gaurav Singh Gill | Motor Sports |
| 9. | Sh. Pramod Bhagat | Para Sports (Badminton) |
| 10. | Ms. Anjum Moudgil | Shooting |
| 11. | Sh. Harmeet Rajul Desai | Table Tennis |
| 12. | Ms. Pooja Dhanda | Wrestling |
| 13. | Sh. Fouaad Mirza | Equestrian |
| 14. | Sh. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | Football |
| 15. | Ms. Poonam Yadav | Cricket |
| 16. | Ms. Swapna Barman | Athletics |
| 17. | Sh. Sundar Singh Gurjar | Para Sports (Athletics) |
| 18. | Sh. Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth | Badminton |
| 19. | Sh. Simran Singh Shergill | Polo |
About Arjuna Award: This award is given for consistently outstanding performance for 4 years. It is India’s second-highest sporting award after Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each.
Dronacharya Award (regular category):
| S.No. | Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| 1. | Sh. Vimal Kumar | Badminton |
| 2. | Sh. Sandeep Gupta | Table tennis |
| 3. | Sh. Mohinder Singh Dhillon | Athletics |
Dronacharya Award (lifetime category):
| S.No. | Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| 1. | Sh. Merzban Patel | Hockey |
| 2. | Sh. Rambir Singh Khokhar | Kabaddi |
| 3. | Sh. Sanjay Bhardwaj | Cricket |
About Dronacharya Award: It is meant for coaches. It is given for producing medal winners at prestigious International sports events. Dronacharya Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each.
Dhyan Chand Award:
| S.No. | Name | Discipline |
| 1 | Sh. Manuel Fredricks | Hockey |
| 2 | Sh. Arup Basak | Table Tennis |
| 3 | Sh. Manoj Kumar | Wrestling |
| 4 | Sh. NittenKirrtane | Tennis |
| 5 | Sh. C. Lalremsanga | Archery |
About Dhyan Chand Award: This award is given for lifetime contribution to sports development. Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Maka) Trophy, 2019 – Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments will be given MAKA Trophy, award money of Rs. 10 lakh and certificate.
Panjab University, Chandigarh
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar –A trophy and citation is given to the entity in the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2019.
| S. No. | Category | Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2019 |
| 1. | Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent’ | (i) Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation
(ii) GoSports Foundation |
| 2. | Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility | — |
| 3. | ‘Employment to sportspersons and other welfare measures’ | — |
| 4. | Sports for Development
|
Rayalaseema Development Trust |
State Governments Celebrations:
AP Sports Minister flags off awareness rally
On August 29,2019, The Arunachal Pradesh Sports Minister Mama Natung flagged off an awareness rally from Civil Secretariat to Sange Laden Sports Academy in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
MP celebrates Major Dhyanchand’s birthday as Sports Day
On August 29, 2019, The Madhya Pradesh state Government has celebrated the all-time greatest player of Hockey ‘The Wizard’ Major Dhyanchand’s birthday in the entire state as Sports Day.
Meghalaya CM launches ‘walk to work’ campaign
On August 29, 2019, The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma has took the lead to launch the campaign of Fit India Movement by walking two-kilometer from his residential quarters to his office chamber at Main Secretariat.
