Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award renamed After Hockey Dhyan Chand'

Ground Report | New Delhi: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; The name of the Khel Ratna Award, given to outstanding sportspersons in India, has been renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Award. Prime Minister Narendra Modi just announced this on Twitter. It is the highest Indian award given in the field of sports.

PM Modi said that amidst the impressive performance of India's hockey team in the Tokyo Olympics, there has been a request to dedicate the name of the Khel Ratna award to Major Dhyan Chand.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna renamed

In the year 2020, this award was given to cricketer Rohit Sharma, Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal, table tennis player Manika Batra and Paralympic high jump athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu. Modi has also congratulated the Indian men's and women's hockey teams for their excellent performance in the Tokyo Olympics.

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The Indian men's hockey team ended the long wait of the Indians after 41 years by winning the bronze medal in the Olympics. At the same time, Indian women players kept on winning the bronze medal. It had to be defeated 4-3 at the hands of Britain. However, the women's team also performed well in the Tokyo Olympics. He entered the semi-finals after defeating a strong team like Australia and continued his fight till the end.

PM Modi tweet

PM Modi said in his tweet, "Major Dhyan Chand was one of the greatest sportspersons of India who held India's head high. So it is fitting that we will have the highest sporting honor of our country in his name. Major Dhyan Chand is also known as 'The Magician of Hockey'. He got India a gold medal in the Olympics 3 times in a row.

Dhyanchand's grip on the ball was unmatched. People watching his match thought that there was a magnet on his hockey stick. This is the reason why during a match, even his hockey was seen to be broken.

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Khel Ratna Award is given to any Indian sportsperson on the basis of his four years of performance. As a reward, the player is awarded seven and a half lakh rupees, a medal, and a certificate.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was started in 1991-92. The award was first given to chess player Vishwanathan Anand and billiards player Geet Sethi.

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