New Delhi: It will not be the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award anymore. The award was rechristened Friday as the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. This decision was taken after the admirable performances of both the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the Tokyo Olympics. The men finished with the bronze while the women missed out on a medal losing 3-4 to Great Britain.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement regarding the change in name. He said that he did so after getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.
“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 prestigious award carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh and a citation.
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India’s sporting fraternity Friday welcomed the renaming of the Khel Ratna. It said that it is only befitting that India’s highest sporting honour is named after one of its greatest.
Dhyan Chand is widely regarded as the greatest player in hockey. In his career that spanned from 1926 to 1949, he clinched Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936. India’s National Sports Day is also celebrated to commemorate his birth anniversary on August 29.
India’s only athletics medal winner in World Championships, Anju Bobby George, who won the Khel Ratna in 2003, said sports awards should be named after sportspersons.
“It is high time we name our sporting awards after our sporting legends. It is the right step. Dhyan Chand is our sporting hero and hockey legend and hockey is our national game,” George said. “It is only fitting that India’s highest sporting award is named after Dhyan Chand at a time when India won an Olympic medal after 41 years,” she added.
Ajitpal Singh who led India to a historic World cup win in 1975 also lauded the move. He said although the recognition came late it’s better than never.
“It’s a welcome move. It’s a good decision which the Prime Minister has taken. Sports awards should always be in the name of sportspersons and there is no bigger sportsperson in the country other than Dhyanchand ji. The recognition came late but better late than never,” Singh said.
Olympic bronze-winning boxer Vijender Singh said honouring the memory of Dhyan Chand is a good move. However, merely that is not enough to raise the standard of sports in India. Well Vijender had to be somewhat carefully critical as he contested from a Congress ticket in an election and Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister was a Congress leader.
“Nothing against the move because we all respect Dhyan Chand ji’s immense contribution. However, the government ought to do more than this to support sportspersons. They need facilities at the basic level, unless we can do that, mere renaming of awards won’t make much of a difference,” Vijender said.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur also supported the move. “Major Dhyan Chand is India’s most legendary & loved sporting icons. It is only befitting that India’s Highest Sporting Honour be named after him. His life and achievements have inspired generations of sportspersons who have achieved glory for India,” Thakur tweeted.