Hockey India marks Major Dhyan Chand's Birth Anniversary with country-wide celebrations

New Delhi, 29 August 2018: The birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard Major Dhyan Chand, which is celebrated as National Sports Day saw overwhelming celebrations across the country to remember the legend’s incredible contribution of winning the Hockey Gold Medal at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games. While in Bhubaneswar, the day’s proceedings saw Chief Minister Hon’ble Naveen Patnaik unveil the ‘wall of wishes’ where people can pen their messages for their favourite hockey teams and players ahead of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, there was also a Count Down Clock that was launched at the iconic Kalinga Stadium by the hockey-enthusiastic Chief Minister in anticipation for the biggest hockey extravaganza where 16 teams will vie for top honours starting on 28 November 2018 in Bhubaneswar.

In the virtual world too, Major Dhyan Chand’s Birth Anniversary created a lot of buzz as Odisha Chief Minister launched the ‘heart beats for hockey’ campaign and took the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 fever to a whole new level.

Meanwhile, in the other parts of the country, Member Units of Hockey India hosted an array of events that saw an encouraging number of children take part in sports. While Hockey Assam, Hockey Bihar, Hockey Chhattisgarh, Hockey Gujarat, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Himachal, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, Hockey Jharkhand, Manipur Hockey among others hosted Sports Day that saw children participate in various disciplines, Kerala Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Bengaluru Hockey Association, Andaman & Nicobar, Salute Hockey Academy hosted 5-a-side hockey matches for men and women.

Member Units Hockey Coorg and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu chose to show kids an inspirational sports-based movie such as the recent Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Gold’ which is a depiction of India winning Gold at the 1948 Olympic Games. The day’s celebrations also saw Sports Quiz Competition being hosted by Citizen Hockey XI at a Government School, Malwa Hockey Academy Hanumangarh organised a cross country while others hosted hockey tournaments across age-groups such as U-14, U-16, U-18 with a vision to promote the sport at a young age.

“Year-on-year we mark the Birth Anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand with our Member Units hosting various events that bring children of different age-groups together on the sporting arena. This year, however, was special with the Chief Minister of Odisha Hon’ble Naveen Patnaik taking the country’s hockey-craze to another level ahead of the much-awaited Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 by launching the ‘wall of wishes’, the count down clock as well as endorsing the ‘heart beats for hockey’ online campaign — all innovative initiatives to garner greater support for the sport and the mega event scheduled to begin on 28 November 2018 in Bhubaneswar,” stated Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, Secretary General, Hockey India.