National Sports Day 2022: PM Modi's 'Meet the Champion' initiative to be marked in schools

As the nation gears up with passion to celebrate National Sports Day on August 29, which is the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced that it would be conducting the 'Meet The Champion' initiative in 26 schools across the country on August 29.

"With the special occasion of the National Sports Day and as a tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has now expanded the initiative to also include athletes who participated in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) and World Championships," read a statement.

Nikhat Zareen, who won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the World Championships, Bhavina Patel, who won a medal at the Paralympics, and Manpreet Singh, who won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, are just a few of the well-known athletes that will take part in the initiative this year.

As part of the FIT INDIA campaign, the Sports Authority of India will also be commemorating this year's National Sports Day through pan-Indian sporting activities with the theme "Sports as an enabler for an inclusive and fit society." Sporting activities are planned at many levels, including amateur, recreational and professional competitions among people from all walks of life and age groups.

Later in the day on August 29, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur in the company of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of state for Youth Affairs and Sports Nitish Pramanik are set to conduct a virtual interactive session with a few sports and Fit India fitness icons of India to discuss the importance to fitness and sports in India.

The official Twitter handle of the Sports Authority of India posted about the National Sports Day and urged all citizens to take part by playing their favourite sport for at least an hour on Monday.

Meet The Champions Campaign

Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra launched the innovative "Meet the Champions" school visitation initiative in December of last year, and it has spread throughout the nation in recent months. The champion athletes give schoolchildren an overall inspirational boost during the visit by sharing their experiences, life lessons, and dietary advice.

National Sports Day

The National Sports Day or Rashtriya Khel Diwas is marked as a very special occasion in India as we celebrate hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand's birth anniversary on August 29 every year. On August 6, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the renaming of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.