- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S highest sporting honour Rajiv Khel Ratna Award, which was named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was on Friday (6) renamed after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, following the performance of both the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who has expressed his joy time and again over the performance of the hockey teams at the quadrennial event, made the announcement saying he had been receiving requests from several citizens of the country to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand, who had won three gold medals in hockey Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
“Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award! 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,” Modi tweeted.
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The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is awarded by the Indian ministry of youth affairs and sports. Its recipients are selected by a committee formed by the ministry and is given to those having displayed “spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years” at international level. As of 2020, the award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh (US$35,000). It was first awarded in 1991-92 and ace chess player Vishwanathan Anand was its first recipient.
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Modi added that the performance of the men’s and women’s hockey teams has captured the imagination of the entire nation and there was a renewed interest towards the sport that is emerging across the length and breadth of India.
This is a very positive sign for the coming times, Modi said.
The Indian men’s team won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, bringing back a medal from the mega event after a gap of 41 years. The women’s team also came very close to winning a medal but ended fourth in the tournament, marking a drastic improvement over their show at the Rio Games when they finished last among 12 teams.
