India`s highest sports award is named after legenadary hockey player Dhyan Chand. The country celebrates `National Sports Day` to commemorate his birth anniversary, with many stadiums across India stand in his honour.
However, the legend has not yet been conferred with the Bharat Ratna, despite several appeals and public movements.
In 2021, the Centre renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. However, many wonder, why, despite public sentiment, the country`s highest civilian honour continues to elude the man who put Indian hockey on the world map.
Former hockey player Dilip Tirkey said that Dhyan Chand was the greatest player of his time.
“Dhyanchand was the greatest player in the world in his time. I always say that hockey is the sport which got us out first Olympic gold medals and Major Dhyan Chand`s contribution is incomparable,” Tirkey told PTI.
He also questioned that if the country`s highest sports award is named after him, then why is he still not awarded the Bharat Ratna.
“If the country`s biggest sports award is named after him, the National Stadium is named after him, then why not he is given a Bharat Ratna?,” questioned Tirkey.
Dhyan Chand was the architect of India`s golden era of hockey. He led India to gold medals in three consecutive Olympics (Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932 and Berlin 1936), putting the country on the world sports map for the first time.
He also holds the record of scoring the most goals (570 in 185 matches) in the history of the sport.
His son, Ashok Dhyan Chand, said that his father always stayed away from publicity. Now, years after his death, his name continues to reverberate in the country, a sign that he was one of the greatest players of the game.
“He was the first to put India on the world sporting map. Even 46 years after his death, his name is echoing today and this is called the legacy of a great player. I am proud of him for always staying away from publicity,” said Ashok.
He was awarded the country`s third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, in 1956 but was repeatedly ignored for the Bharat Ratna.
(With PTI Inputs)
