India is celebrating the National Sports Day on Monday, August 29. The Sports Day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand to not just celebrate the achievement of the three-time Olympic gold medallist (1928, 1932, 1936) but also to dedicate to the several other sporting heroes and champions who have brought laurels to the country.
Th Allahabad-born legendary stick player scored 400 goals in his 22-year-long career and is remembered as one of the greatest sportspersons India has ever produced. In memory of Dhyan Chand, the Sports Day is celebrated to encourage people to take up sports as it will not only help them get fitter physically but mentally too.
Former India batter Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to ask everyone to pick up a sport and play regularly to help the country move towards a fitter nation while talking about the historic achievement of the women’s fours team in Lawn Bowls by winning the first-ever gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. Tendulkar said that age is no barrier to take up sports as only determination and passion matters.
“We’ve seen several instances of people breaking the barriers of age to triumph in their dedicated sports. The examples are plenty around the world. Everyone’s hurdles are different, but it is with sheer determination and perseverance that one overcomes them. Sport is such a means which instills hope in people, and uplifts the spirit and mood of not only the sportsperson but also the nation, at large,” Tendulkar wrote in a statement.
Legendary Indian sprinter PT Usha too encouraged the citizens to join in the celebrations of the Sports Day by picking up a sport. “Not only does the sport have physical benefits, it also helps mentally. Take up a sport today in case you don’t already play one. Join in the celebration of #NationalSportsDay today and play a sport of your choice,” she said.
Apart from these, former Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj, cricketers Dinesh Karthik, Mohammad Kaif and Robin Uthappa too talked about the positives of sports and how it helped them made a better person.
