New Delhi, Aug 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Friday that he was named the nation's highest award for sports in response to "many requests from citizens across India". It will now be called Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award after the hockey wizard who won three Olympic gold medals for India from 1928 to 1936.
Instituted in 1991-92, the Khel Ratna Award was named after the late former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and India's chess prodigy Viswanathan Anand was its first recipient.
Some of its notable recipients are baize sport exponents Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani, boxer MC Mary Kom, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, shooters Abhinav Bindra and Vijay Kumar, shuttler PV Sindhu and wrestler Sushil Kumar.
The Award is administered by the Sports Ministry and given away every year at a special function by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
PM Modi's move has followed the outpouring of positive public sentiments after the superb showing of the Indian men's and women's hockey teams at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
On Thursday, Manpreet Singh-led men's hockey team won a medal — bronze — at the quadrennial showpiece after more four decades. The women's team fought tooth and nail before losing to Great Britain 3-4 in the bronze-medal match on Friday.
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