National Sports Day: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag demand Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand
National Sports Day: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan came forward and urged the Indian government to bestow the Bharat Ratna to Dhyan Chand.
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Major Dhyan Chand was one the greatest sportspersons to have ever lived. The legendary hockey player scored more than 400 goals for the country. Besides scoring all the goals, Dhyan Chand also won three gold medals for India in three successive Olympic events in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Dhyan Chand was also awarded country's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, by the Indian government.
National Sports Day: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir urge Indian government to confer Dhyan Chand with Bharat Ratna
However, for several years, there has been a demand to confer the hockey wizard with Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian award). In 2014, there was an uproar to award Dhyan Chand with the Bharat Ratna when sports were included in the categories that qualified for the prestigious honour. However, it was former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who was awarded Bharat Ratna ahead of Dhyan Chand, which made him the first sportsperson of the country to receive the illustrious honour.
Now once again, on account of the National Sports Day which is celebrated on August 29 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand, there have been demands to confer the hockey legend with Bharat Ratna. The tradition of celebrating National Sports Day was started in 2012. On National Sports Day, the country honours its sporting stars with recognitions like the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand and the Dronacharya Awards at an auspicious ceremony held at the iconic Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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Indian cricketers Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan came forward and urged the Indian government to bestow Bharat Ratna to Dhyan Chand. On National Sports Day, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan took to Twitter and paid tribute to Dhyan Chand. They also wrote about how the late Dhyan Chand deserved to be honoured with the award.
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Tributes to the Bharat Ratna, Major Dhyanchand on his birth anniversary. It's high time the legend who is a Bharat Ratna receives the Bharat Ratna.#NationalSportsDay pic.twitter.com/NdmqMldOiO
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 29, 2020
A man who deserves the Bharat Ratna! Tributes to India’s greatest sportsperson #MajorDhyanChand on his birth anniversary! pic.twitter.com/M4tMlMgxoP
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 29, 2020
Remembering Dhyan Chand ji on #NationalSportsDay and everything that sports has given me. Always grateful 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CAVh0xXqNc
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) August 29, 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter on Saturday and paid his tribute to Dhyan Chand on the occasion of National Sports Day. Narendra Modi also said that Dhyan Chand's magic with the hockey stick will always be remembered.
Today, on #NationalSportsDay, we pay tributes to Major Dhyan Chand, whose magic with the hockey stick can never be forgotten.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 29, 2020
This is also a day to laud the outstanding support given by the families, coaches and support staff towards the success of our talented athletes.
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