Updated By: LatestGKGS Desk
Dhyan Chand Award: History, establishment, features, first recipients
Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games history, features
Dhyan Chand award is presented to sportspersons for their lifetime achievements and contribution to sport during both their active career and following retirement. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It is officially known as Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games.
The name of the award is after Major Dhyan Chand(1905-79) scored 1000 goals in hockey during his professional career.
It was started in the year 2002 by the government of India. Prize money is 5 lakh(US$7000) given to the recipient. The award is given only to events like Olympic, Paralympic, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World cup along with Cricket, Indigenous Games, and Parasports.
Any sportsperson who is either penalized or being investigated for use of drugs or substances banned by the World-Anti-Doping-Agency is not eligible for the award. For the Dhyan Chand Award, Bharat Chetri (hockey), Satya Dev Prasad (archery), Dadu Chowgule (wrestling) and Bobby Aloysius (athletics) have been recommended to be honored in 2018. The first recipients of the award were Shahuraj Birajdar (Boxing), Ashok Diwan (Hockey), and Aparna Ghosh (Basketball), who was honored in 2002.
