The National Sports Day (NSD) is celebrated every year on 29th August to mark the birthday of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand. On this occasion, in 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind has confered Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
The Khel Ratna Award is honoured for the players spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level. The Arjuna Awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports while the Dronacharya Award is sports coaching honour.