Every year, National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 on the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. The Day has been dedicated to the great athlete and hockey player Dhyan Chand who won gold for Indian Olympic thrice and was also known as The Wizard of hockey. National Sports Day was included in the list of celebratory days in India for the first time in 2012.In this article, we shall discuss the significance of this day along with a brief background of its inception. Also, given further below is the list of award winners for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2021. This is an important current affairs topic for the upcoming government and IAS Exam for the objective type papers.
National Sports Day [August 29]:-Download PDF Here
The candidates can also read more relevant information from the links provided below:
| Khelo India Programme | List of Sports Cups and Trophies |
| List of Sports Terms | Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) |
| Fantasy Sports In India | ICC Cricket World Cup Winners |
Introduction
- Activities relating to Sports and Physical Education are essential components of human resource development, helping to promote good health, comradeship and a spirit of friendly competition, which, in turn, has a positive impact on the overall development of the personality of the youth.
- Excellence in sports enhances the sense of achievement, national pride and patriotism.
- Sports also provide beneficial recreation, improve productivity and foster social harmony and discipline.
All government exam aspirants must check the List of Countries and their National Games at the linked articles, important from the static general awareness perspective.
National Sports Day, 2023
- Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports launched the Fit India Mobile Application on 29th August 2021 on the occasion of National Sports Day at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in order to celebrate the second anniversary of the Fit India Movement and as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (ongoing celebration for 75th Independence Day).
- The Fit India App will be available on both the Android and the iOS platforms and has been developed keeping in mind that it works even on basic smartphones.
- One can watch the launch ceremony Live on Fit India’s Facebook page and download the app for free from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store from August 29th onwards.
Apart from the National Sports Day, there are various other important days celebrated and observed, nationally and internationally that are necessary from the competitive exam perspective. All UPSC aspirants can get the List of Important Days and Dates for prelims examination at the linked article.
| Kickstart your IAS preparation now and complement it with the links given below: |
National Sports Award 2023 – Winners’ List
The list of National Sports Award winners was announced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports on November 2, 2021. Given below is the list of winners for different awards in the field of sports. 1. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award – This award is presented to sportspersons with outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of last four years.
| Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| Neeraj Chopra | Athletics |
| Ravi Kumar | Wrestling |
| Lovlina Borgohain | Boxing |
| Sreejesh P.R | Hockey |
| Avani Lekhara | Para Shooting |
| Sumit Antil | Para Athletics |
| Pramod Bhagat | Para-Badminton |
| Krishna Nagar | Para-Badminton |
| Manish Narwal | Para Shooting |
| Mithali Raj | Cricket |
| Sunil Chhetri | Football |
| Manpreet Singh | Hockey |
2. Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games – Awarded to coaches for outstanding and meritorious work in supporting and guiding the sportspersons at International tournaments.
| Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| Life-Time Category | |
| T. P. Ouseph | Athletics |
| SarkarTalwar | Cricket |
| Sarpal Singh | Hockey |
| Ashan Kumar | Kabaddi |
| Tapan Kumar Panigrahi | Swimming |
| Regular Category | |
| Radhakrishnan Nair P | Athletics |
| SandhyaGurung | Boxing |
| PritamSiwach | Hockey |
| Jai PrakashNautiyal | Para Shooting |
| Subramanian Raman | Table Tennis |
3. Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games – Awarded to honour the sportsperson who have not just contributed through their performance but also continues to contribute after retirement.
| Name | Discipline |
| Lekha K.C. | Boxing |
| Abhijeet Kunte | Chess |
| Davinder Singh Garcha | Hockey |
| Vikas Kumar | Kabaddi |
| Sajjan Singh | Wrestling |
4. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar – This honour is given to corporate entities (both in the private and public sector), sports control boards, NGOs who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.
| Category | Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, 2021 |
| Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent | ManavRachna Educational Institution |
| Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility | Indian Oil Corporation Limited |
5. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2021 – This award is given to the overall top-performing university in inter-university tournaments. For 2021, Punjab University, Chandigarh has been awarded the trophy. 6. Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games – A total of 35 sportspeople will be awarded for 2021, for good performance over a period of the previous four years and showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. Get the detailed list of Arjuna Award Winners 2021 at the linked article.
Significance of National Sports Day
- The National Sports Day is celebrated in memory of Major Dhyan Chand and also with the objective to highlight the significance of sports in our lives and staying fit and healthy.
- The President of India gives away the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to sportsmen and coaches across various sports.
- This day has been used as a platform by the government to launch various schemes or programmes.
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