Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 announced that India's top sports award Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

Modi in a tweet said "I have been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand. I thank them for their views. Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award!".

I have been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand. I thank them for their views.

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award!

Jai Hind! pic.twitter.com/zbStlMNHdq

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2021

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2021

On August 5, the Indian men's hockey team bagged the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after defeating Germany in the third-place match.

India defeated Germany 5-4 to clinch the Olympic medal. This was India's first hockey medal in 41 years.

India is the most successful team in the men's field hockey competition at the Summer Olympic Games with a record eight gold medals (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980), one silver medal (1960) and now three bronze medals (1968, 1972 and 2021).

India once dominated men's field hockey, winning eight Olympic golds between 1928 and 1980.

India is still Asia's top team but is now ranked fourth in the world behind Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Hockey greats Dhyan Chand and KD Singh Babu were the stars as India won six straight Olympic tournaments between 1928 and 1956. Five of their eight triumphs came after India's independence from British rule in 1947.

Hockey remains India's national game but has slipped in the popularity stakes behind cricket, which can boast glamour and riches.
The Indian team had crashed out in the quarter-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Great Britain’s women’s field hockey team defeated India 4-3 in the third-place match to bag the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on August 6, 2021.

Sarah Robertson, Elena Sian Rayer, Hollie Pearne-Webb and Grace Balsdon scored for Britain. Vandana Katariya and Gurjit Kaur scored for India.

The difference between the two teams was that India had the better share of chances but Great Britain utilised more opportunities that came their way.

While the Indian side has bagged gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, an Olympic medal has remained elusive.

The Indian women’s hockey team has never won a medal at the Summer Olympics but had finished fourth at the 1980 event. On the other hand, Great Britain were the defending champions having won the gold medal in 2016.