The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, was renamed after hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand by the Prime Minister on August 6. PM Modi said he had been getting many requests from citizens to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dyan Chand. “Major Dhyan Chand was among India’s foremost sportspersons who brought honour and pride for India. It is fitting that our nation’s highest sporting honour will be named after him,” PM Modi tweeted.
The government’s decision comes a day after Indian men’s hockey team ended the 41-year wait for an Olympic medal when it defeated Germany 5-4 and secured first hockey medal for the country since the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
The women’s hockey team too performed admirably and just missed out on a medal when it lost to Great Britain 3-4 and finished 4th earlier in the day.
The change came at a time when India’s hockey teams (both men’s and women’s) had captured the imagination of the nation with their splendid performance at the Tokyo Olympics. The award, launched in 1992, comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of 25 lakh. In this context, it is significant to note that Dhyan Chand won three Olympic golds for the country and his birthday (August 29) is being celebrated as National Sports Day.
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