New Delhi: The Grand Kumbh of the Games has ended on August 8 at the Tokyo Olympics. This time India’s performance in Tokyo Olympics was very good. There are a total of 7 medals in India this time. In which India’s men’s hockey team is also included, which has won the bronze medal. Meanwhile, many praise and critical posts were shared on social media. In which hockey was declared as the national sport. But is hockey our national sport?
Like our national flag is tricolor, the national anthem is Jana-Gana-mana, the national emblem is Ashoka Chakra. Similarly, many countries also have national games. Like cricket is the national sport of England, baseball of America, football of Brazil and France. Similarly, which is our national sport? Now only one thought will come to your mind that hockey is our national sport? So this is wrong. Our national sport is not hockey.
Actually, questions have been raised many times regarding the national game of India, on which the government has told us that our national sport is not hockey. In March this year, Shivam Kumar Gupta, a law student from Gorakhpur, UP, had sought a reply from the Sports Ministry on National Sports through RTI. He had asked the government in RTI, ‘Which sport has been recognized as a national sport by the Government of India?
Responding to the student’s question, the Sports Ministry had sent a letter saying that the Government of India has not recognized any sport as a national sport. The aim of the government is to encourage all sports. Let us tell you that many years ago a young man named Aishwarya Parashar had also asked the same question to the government through RTI. Responding to that, the government had said that hockey is like a normal game.
Though hockey has been given the priority it is not a national sport. Hockey is considered a popular sport in our country. India has won six-round medals in the Olympics from 1928 to 1956. At that time Major Dhyan Chand was known as ‘Hockey Magician’. Let us tell you that recently the government has changed the name of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Award.
