Eminent athletes to join pan-India National Sports Day celebrations

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Prominent athletes including Sumit Antil, Shreyasi Singh, Bhavani Devi and Vishnu Saravanan will be joining the pan-India celebration for the National Sports Day on August 29 from their home towns or training bases.

Pranav Soorma, a Paris Paralympic silver medallist, will also be a part of the festival during which tributes will be paid to hockey icon Major Dhyan Chand, whose birth anniversary is commemorated on that day.

In addition, sporting icons like Abhinav Bindra, Sunil Chhetri, Murali Sreeshankar, PV Sindhu, Manika Batra, Mirabai Chanu and others have urged people of all ages and communities to participate in the festival.

Acting on a call given by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya last week to transform this year's National Sports Day into a true people's movement, states and union territories across India have begun their preparations for this celebration, a press release stated on Monday.

Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and the UTs of Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi have already issued directions to their concerned departments to initiate preparations for the three-day festival.

This year the National Sports Day (NSD) celebrations will be led by the Fit India Mission and organised as a three-day, nation-wide sports and fitness movement from August 29 to 31 under the theme 'Ek Ghanta, Khel ke Maidan Main'.

The movement seeks to spread awareness about the importance of dedicating at least 60 minutes daily to physical activity for preventing lifestyle diseases.

The spirit of NSD 2025 also pays special tribute to Olympic values of excellence, friendship, respect and Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration, and equality.

With the motto 'Har Gali, Har Maidan, Khele Saara Hindustan', Members of Parliament and other public representatives will also join local programmes across the country to motivate people at large.

Several states and UTs — including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Andaman & Nicobar Islands — have kicked off sports activities and awareness programmes in the run-up to National Sports Day.

Chief ministers across the country are personally monitoring the preparations and most of them will join the event on August 29 from their respective state capitals, adding further momentum to the Jan Andolan (People's movement).

Aligned with India's vision of hosting the Olympic Games in 2036, the celebrations aim to foster a culture of mass participation in sports and fitness activities across Bharat.

The framework for the three-day festival is as follows: Day 1 (Aug 29): Tributes to Major Dhyan Chand and the Fit India Pledge followed by one hour of playing sports.

Day 2 (Aug 30): Sports debates, fitness talks and competitions in indigenous and other sports like kho-kho, kabaddi, volleyball, sack race, tug of war etc. across Bharat.

Day 3 (Aug 31): The celebrations will culminate with Fit India Sundays on Cycle – a nationwide drive to promote cycling as an integral part of life. PTI AH BS BS