On the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, Odisha observed National Sports Day with a state-level ceremony at the Convention Centre of Lok Seva Bhawan.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, attending as chief guest, conferred the Biju Patnaik Sports and Adventure Awards for 2025 and called on the state’s youth to turn sport into a way of life.
Paying tribute to Dhyan Chand, the Chief Minister recalled the legend’s famous words: it is not what the country has done for you that matters most, but what you have done for the country. He urged every young Odia to live that credo. Aligning with the national theme “Khelega India, Jitega India,” he announced Odisha’s own pledge — “Kheliba Odisha, Jitiba Odisha” — and said the government would keep working until the state becomes a global sports capital.
Majhi described Odisha’s transformation as a journey “from playground to podium.” The state, he said, is already a major sporting powerhouse. To give children world-class facilities and coaching, the government is building modern stadiums in all 314 blocks at a cost of ₹4,124 crore, a world-class sports complex at Gothapatna in Bhubaneswar, the Baji Rout Regional Sports Hub in Dhenkanal, and five other regional hubs.
To bring rural talent into the spotlight, the CM Trophy is being expanded. Sport is also being used as an instrument of social change: sporting kits have been distributed to youth in 485 villages across 10 Maoist-affected districts. Odisha, he added, has earned the historic honour of hosting the 2028 Asian and World Athletics Indoor Championships — a first for India.
Awards of the day
The Chief Minister presented the Biju Patnaik Adventure Award to Soumyaranjan Behera of Nayagarh. Posthumous adventure awards went to the late Nilamadhab Panda and Sunil Kumar Ray of Jajpur.
Other honours included:
- Lifetime Achievement: Pranati Mishra
- Excellence in sports journalism: Shakti Prakash Nanda
- Outstanding performance in sport: Loma Swain
- Best coach: Gopal Krishna Dash
- Best para-athlete: Suchitra Parida
- Best emerging athletes: Pratik Maharana and Payal Nag
- Best technical official: Prabodh Kumar Mohanty
- Best sports promotion organisation: Samaleswari Sporting Club, Sambalpur (received by club president and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra)
Sports and Youth Services Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said skill alone does not make a great athlete; devotion and discipline do — as Dhyan Chand proved. He asked children to cut screen time and increase sporting time.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg praised para-archer Payal Nag of Balangir, who has won gold despite not having hands, calling her an inspiration. Physical fitness, she said, is essential to a prosperous Odisha; the Fit Odisha Mission will be taken from gram panchayats to municipalities.
Sports and Youth Services Commissioner-cum-Secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia delivered the welcome address. Director Dr. Yedula Vijay proposed the vote of thanks.
The message from Bhubaneswar was unambiguous: Odisha will play, Odisha will win — and the path from village ground to world podium is now state policy.
