National Sports Day

There are some days whose significance cannot be understated and one such day is the National Sports Day which is celebrated across the country on August 29. It is impossible to talk about the day without talking about Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand Singh, popularly known as "The Wizard" for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats. He is widely regarded as the nation's greatest hockey player of all time whose feats included leading India to three Olympic gold medals in the years - 1928, 1932 and 1936 and scored over 400 goals in his career spanning 22 years. 

There are some days whose significance cannot be understated and one such day is the National Sports Day which is celebrated across the country on August 29. It is impossible to talk about the day without talking about Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand Singh, popularly known as "The Wizard" for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats. He is widely regarded as the nation's greatest hockey player of all time whose feats included leading India to three Olympic gold medals in the years - 1928, 1932 and 1936 and scored over 400 goals in his career spanning 22 years. 

For his contribution, he was bestowed with India’s third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan in 1956 and is the only Hockey player till date to have won this award. The National Stadium of Delhi was also renamed to Major Dhyan Chand stadium and his birth anniversary was chosen to be commemorated as National Sports Day.

National Sports Day intends to spread awareness on the importance of sports and daily activities in every individual’s life. On this day, the President of India honours eminent sports personalities who have achieved laurels in the sporting world with major awards including Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards, Dronacharya Awards, and Dhyan Chand Award.

In 2019, wrestler Bajrang Punia and Rio Paralympics silver medalist Deepa Malik were awarded the highest sporting honour in the country - Khel Ratna. For 2020, the names of cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal, paddler Manika Batra, and Paralympian T Mariyappan have been recommended for Khel Ratna. 

It was also on this very day in 2019, that our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Fit India Campaign'. It was a nationwide campaign which aimed to encourage people to include physical activity and sports into their everyday lives. 

When it comes to the ever-growing sports culture in India, we can’t undermine the fact that our country needs a pan-India, multi-sport platform for school and college athletes who can be groomed to become the next superstars of our country. And that is exactly what we have been doing at RFYS - building an ecosystem which nurtures future sporting heroes who will represent India at international championships and create a lasting legacy for future generations to learn from. Because we believe in one simple principle - to leave no talent behind.