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29 August,2021 | By Brainwonders
Sports have always been a way to stay healthy and fit. Apart from the health benefits, the importance of sports can be seen in many other aspects of life. From discipline to improving thinking ability, from developing leadership skills to team building, sports play a huge role in human life.
To celebrate the sports in the country and to commemorate the Birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard Major Dhyan Chand, India celebrates National Sports Day each year on 29th August.
As we celebrate the achievements of our Cricketers, Major Dhyan Chand’s name in Indian sports is indeed never to be forgotten. This day is also known as Rashtriya Khel Divas which was first celebrated in 2012. It is also seen as a day to increase awareness about sports and their importance in daily life.
Awards like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, Dronacharya Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar are conferred to honour the sportspersons.
Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29th August 1905. Like his father, he also enrolled himself in the Indian army at the age of 16 and he started playing hockey through the army. He was then selected for the national hockey team in 1926.
He received a lot of praises for his international performance as well. Even the myths around his stick to having a magnet in his stick started to spread. As a result of this, officials in the Netherlands tried to break his stick to check the magnet. Such stories always revolved around the hockey legend.
Excellent in his game, once he could not score goals. As a result, he argued about the measure of the goal post. Surprisingly enough, he was right.
The ‘The Hockey Wizard’ played hockey till the 1940s.
But the legacy of the Hockey Wizard continues…
Looking at his achievements, we should be celebrating The Hockey Wizard EVERY DAY!
Let us take a look at a few reasons to remember him.
Major Dhyan Chand was in the first-ever Olympic Hockey squad for India. Displaying splendid performance, he captained the Indian Hockey team in the 1936 Olympics. Despite many financial struggles, the Indian field hockey team won 3 gold medals in Olympics, with a leading performance by Dhyan Chand, 14 goals in 5 matches.
In the coming years, Major Dhyan Chand made history as the man from Allahabad who developed his game and helped India win Olympic gold, 3 consecutive times.
Mary Kom Born in Manipur, MC Mary Kom is an Indian Olympic boxer and the only female to have won eight world championship medals. Overcoming the objections from the family, Mary Kom became the 6 times world champion and the Olympic medalist. 
Dutee Chand – Born in Jajpur District at Odisha, Dutee Chand is an Indian Sprinter and a champion in the ‘under 18 categories’ in the100m event in 2012. From running barefoot in childhood for training to being called a ‘tomboy’ for having great aspirations which were acceptable to the boys only she has fought through her years of struggle and now has major achievements under her name. She rose to fame for setting the national record by timing 11.8 seconds in the 100 meters categories. She has also won a bronze medal in the 2016 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. She is also the only Indian athlete to come out as an LGBTQ community member. 
Geeta Phogat- Geeta Phogat was born into a conservative Jat family in Haryana. Coming through all the barriers of a village that still considers a girl child as a sign of shame, Geeta Phogat and her sisters have now broken all the barriers and won India’s first-ever gold medal in Women’s wrestling in Olympic Games 2010. Apart from this, she is also the first woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics and has been conferred with the Arjuna award in 2012. 
Bajrang Punia- Born as the son of a wrestler, Bajrang Punia also had to struggle his way up the success ladder. With his family’s low-income conditions, his struggle started at the age of 7. He overcomes all the financial struggles and won a Bronze medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020. He is the only wrestler to win 3 medals at the World wrestling championships. 
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu – Mirabai Chanu’s road to success was also not an easy one. She is a native of a small village in Manipur. Coming from a financially struggled family, she now has crossed the barriers and has won the Olympic silver medal in weightlifting. She is also the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
… These and there are many other names in Indian Sports whose stories keep inspiring us.
India has never hosted any Olympics games but with the current status of sports in India, and looking at the report on sports cities in India, India is likely to host Olympic games in upcoming years!
Cricket being ‘one of the Religions in the country’, people in India pretty much worship the game. It is high time now India recognizes other sports in the mainstream as well.
As a highly successful game, cricket is celebrated as a festival in India. But the support for other games is still lacking in the country.
The training of athletes is an important aspect of succeeding in other sports in the country. The attention given to cricket players and other sportspersons is not equal.
Media plays a huge role in getting the voice of players in front of people. Due to many emerging platforms, India is slowly seeing a change in changing perception towards less known sports.
As a result of which organizations like the GoSports Foundation help in gaining recognition to the lesser-known sports as well. Now, the participation of athletes in other sports has also convincingly increased.
Myths around sports in Indian society- Games and sports are looked at as something that will bring down the academic performances of the child. Hence to survive in a competitive environment like India’s Indian sportspersons do not only have to manage sports but many other challenges as well.
Poverty:– In a huge country like India, poverty is a major issue that surrounds 1.3 billion people. Many sportspersons cannot receive nutrition because of poverty. As sports are promoted in today’s times, slowly the change can be seen.
Lack of recognition for other sports-As a cricket-centric country, India fails to recognize non-cricketing sports. Cricket brings the maximum economy to the country when it comes to sports. But when we look at other sports, with the right attention, they can also contribute to bringing better economic benefits for the country.
In a fast-developing country like India, there is a lot of potential for supporting sports and sportspersons who represent the country on a global scale. We are currently witnessing a huge sports revolution that can lead to a brighter future for all the sports in the country.
Infrastructure: A sports ecosystem:
For any country to reach greater heights in sports a good infrastructure that promotes sports is crucial. Currently, India has 100 sports facilities fulfilling international standards of sports infrastructure. Many indoor and outdoor games require a fully equipped infrastructure. A well-equipped infrastructure needs to be developed to improve the quality of training that sportspersons need.
Public interest towards other sports:
Looking at the current status of sports in the country it can be said that there is a slow change in the preference of sports by the audience. With other advances in technology, Indian youth has found another way to celebrate cricket via online gaming. This attention can also be given to other sports. And many other ways can be used to increase public awareness about non-cricketing sports. One of the major ways in which any country can excel in sports is the support of its people. And India, as the 2nd most populated country on earth can do much better in terms of supporting all the sports in the country.
Providing land to outdoor games:
Outdoor sports demand land and space to train. With current urbanization, the problem of lack of space in the cities is rising. The availability of land in many places is a major problem that can be looked after by the government.
If we look at the current status of sports in India it is safe to say, India is slowly moving ahead on a revolutionary path in terms of sports development in the country.
As technology has equipped all the fields, sports are also not behind. The online version of the offline games is a long-discussed topic now. With cricket, now Kabdaddi has also landed in the fantasy league, followed by football, kabaddi, basketball, and others.
With 7 successful medals in Tokyo Olympics 2020, India is finally moving towards glory in Sports development. This is a huge achievement for India!
Success stories of sportspersons coming from all parts of countries are a new direction towards a significant shift.
From being the temple city to being the sports capital of India, Bhubaneshwar’s journey has been an inspiring story.
Bhubaneshwar was given the title of “Sports capital of India “, on Feb 15, 2018, by FIH & IOA President Narinder Batra.
Once known as the temple city of India, how did Bhubaneshwar became the sports capital city of India?
In the year 2013 one of the best hockey stadiums in the country was set up in Bhubaneswar. After Hockey India and International Hockey Federation (FIH) explored the city's facilities, the city has been hosting major tournaments since then.
Odisha has also become India’s first state to sponsor any team in the Hockey India League. Not stopping at just this, they have also sponsored the Indian National Hockey teams.
Odisha was the first state to organize a sports meet, for the tribal community on a large scale.
Odisha’s other feather in the hat was Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2018. As the
Not stopping at Hockey, Odisha is also hosted 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship.
"The Juggernauts". As the football fan base in Odisha based on Juggernaut, which is derived from Lord Jagannath, is another achievement in Bhubaneshwar’s success story as the sports capital city of the country.
Getting an ISL team, to sponsoring Indian national rugby teams, Odisha is showing every Indian state how the entire sports ecosystem should be developed!
This national sports day we urge you to celebrate hockey legend by honouring the passion our country has for sports!
Fill the form to know how!
