PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter and announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is renamed as Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award He further added that the decision to rename the prestigious award was taken “respecting the sentiments of citizens across the country”. The Khel Ratna award is the highest sporting honour in the nation.
PM Modi tweeted, “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! Jai Hind!”
The Khel Ratna award was instituted in 1991-1992. The first recipient of the award was Chess Legend Viswanathan Anand. The now renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh. Apart from the Khel Ratna award, the highest award for lifetime achievement in sports is known as the Dhyan Chand Award. The National Stadium in Delhi was renamed as Dhyan Chand National Stadium in 2002.
Dhyan Chand played international hockey from 1926 to 1949. The legendary player scored over 400 goals in his career. He was also part of the team that brought home the Olympic Gold Medal 1928, 1932 and 1936.
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