The wizard lives on: Why India celebrates National Sports Day on August 29?

What made Major Dhyan Chand so extraordinary that his birth anniversary, August 29, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India?The very Olympic gold medal that Indian hockey now longs for, Dhyan Chand once made routine.

He led the country to three consecutive Olympic gold medals - in 1928, 1932, and 1936. He also holds the record of scoring the most goals (570 in 185 matches) in the history of the sport.

He wasn’t just a player; he was poetry in motion, a maestro whose hockey stick moved like a magician’s wand across the field. No wonder he was given the title “The Hockey Wizard of India.”

1st National Sports Day

To honour this sporting genius, who was born on August 29, 1905, his birthday was officially declared National Sports Day in 2012. But this day is more than just a tribute. It’s a reminder to awaken the sporting spirit in every Indian. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said that this year’s celebrations will be led by the Fit India Mission. The ministry said that it has launched a “nation-wide sports and fitness movement from August 29 to 31” under the theme ‘Ek Ghanta, Khel ke Maidan Main’.

Will Dhyan Chand ever get a Bharat Ratna?

It’s also the day when the President of India presents the National Sports Awards—the most prestigious being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour.

However, despite all the appeals, RTIs, and public movements, the Bharat Ratna continues to elude the hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. In 2021, the Centre renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

But many wonder why, despite the public sentiment, the country's highest civilian honour continues to elude the man who put Indian hockey on the world map.

Hockey India president and three-time Olympian Dilip Tirkey led a movement at Jantar Mantar in 2016 with this demand and also raised the matter in Parliament, but every attempt failed.

Other National Sports Awards:

Arjuna Award – The second-highest sporting honour
Dronacharya Award – The highest sporting honour for coaches
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy – To commemorate top performances in university-level competitions
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar – To recognise private and public organisations for their efforts in promoting sports over the period of the last three years.

Adding to the significance, this year’s Hockey Asia Cup also begins on August 29, a poetic echo of Dhyan Chand’s timeless legacy, one that continues to inspire generations.