The National Sports Day in India is celebrated on 29 August every year. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.
The theme for this year’s National Sports Day celebration is “Sports are an enabler to an inclusive and fit society”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to India’s hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on the occasion of his 118th birth anniversary and the 12th National Sports Day today.
“On National Sports Day, my greetings to all sportspersons. India is proud of their contributions to the nation.I pay homage to Major Dhyan Chand Ji as well on his birth anniversary,” PM Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The first National Sports Day was celebrated on August 29, 2012 and hence this year marks the 12th anniversary of Rashtriya Khel Divas.
Notably, Major Dhyan Chand was part of the Indian hockey team that won gold in the 1928, 1932 and 1936 editions of the Olympics. In his 185 appearances for the country, he scored 570 goals for India.
Dhyan Chand’s amazing control over the ball and superb passes garnered a lot of attention and appreciation.International newspapers described him as a ‘magician of hockey’.
This ‘Wizard of Hockey’ was matched by none in the game of hockey and did wonders to bring glory and happiness to a country that was reeling under a colonial power.
