Hockey India celebrates Olympic Day 2021 by bringing hockey community together

Hockey India celebrated the 73rd Olympic Day on Wednesday with its Member Units showcasing Olympic values among the young children, players, coaches and administrative staff, by taking part in various activities while respecting the social distancing and safety guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hockey India Member Units will be conducting activities and continuing the celebrations for Olympic Day through the week of June 21, 2021.

The theme for this year's Olympic Day celebrations is the Year of the Youth and keeping that in mind, Hockey India’s Member Units marked this special Olympic Day in the year of Olympics with activities that spread the message of spirit of sportsmanship and unity through hockey-focused activities including quizzes, drawing competitions and essay writing competitions on Olympic Day and Olympic values, along with spreading awareness on the importance of healthy living, staying indoors and staying fit.

Through the activities conducted on Olympic Day, it was Hockey India's ambition to strengthen the link that children, young people and adults have with the sport, and through these activities it brought together people from different walks of life, different age groups, without any gender and physical biases, to provide an opportunity to reminisce their favourite Olympic moments and promote the Olympic values.

Olympic Day was first introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on June 23, 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability. Marking the 73rd Olympic Day, Hockey India through various activities endorsed International Olympic Committee's campaign and themes of #StrongerTogether as we inch closer to the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020. 

The hockey community from across the country was united in sending their celebrations to Hockey India in the form of pictures and videos. Among many such activities organised by the various Member Units, Assam Hockey celebrated the day by organising a morning jogging session and an art & craft programme with their members, while Chhattisgarh Hockey and Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre organized essay-writing competitions along with a webinar discussion on India's hopes at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Goans Hockey displayed their Hockey skills and fitness, while Hockey Punjab, Hockey Rajasthan, ITBP Central Hockey Team, Dhyan Chand Hockey Academy and Hockey Uttarakhand organized drawing competitions, wellness videos, hockey drills videos to commemorate the celebrations. Alongside conducting drawing, quiz and essay-writing competitions, Telangana Hockey also felicitated Coaches and National players, while Hockey Andhra Pradesh organized a special Olympic run along with providing monetary help to the members of the families who lost their lives due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Hockey Jammu and Kashmir, flagged off a five-kilometre run where Hockey players of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Hockey Club took part, keeping in mind all Covid SOPs during the event, meanwhile, Tripura Hockey donated essential food items to an old-age home in Agartala as part of their celebrations for this very special Olympic Day. 

Nothing could deter Olympian Vivek Singh Hockey Academy from celebrating Olympic Day amidst heavy rains in Varanasi, as the eager kids helped in preparing the grounds to play a friendly match, meanwhile, Mata Sahib Kaur Hockey Academy Jarkhar - Ludhiana organised a special Olympic Day programme with its members at the Jarkhar Stadium. 

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HIM Academy celebrated the Olympic Day by conducting a yoga session with its members, while Mumbai Schools Sports Association carried out various artistic activities and collated workout-from-home videos. Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy celebrated Olympic Day by organising various art competitions among more than 500 athletes. Manipur Hockey held a special Olympic Day celebratory session which included some cake cutting sessions and also a one week fitness challenge was conducted.

Hockey Mizoram rounded off the day with celebrations by showcasing a video with best wishes to all its members on the occasion of Olympic Day and especially for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.

Speaking on the occasion, Gyanendro Ningombam, President, Hockey India said, "It's always fantastic to see the way the Hockey India Member Units come together and celebrate the Olympic Day with several exciting activities every year. Olympic Day is a day on which we should celebrate the power of sports and the Member Units through activities such as jogging sessions and art & craft programmes ensure that all adults and children enjoy the Olympic Day in the best possible way. We live in unprecedented times at the moment, and it was also wonderful to know that all activities were carried out while keeping the social distancing precautions in mind. On behalf of Hockey India, I send my warmest regards to the Hockey India Member Units for conducting brilliant activities on this Olympic Day."

Hockey India Member Units that organised Olympic Day events on Wednesday, June 23, 2021: 

1. Assam Hockey 
2. Chhattisgarh Hockey
3. Goans Hockey
4. Hockey Punjab
5. Hockey Rajasthan
6. Telangana Hockey
7. Hockey Andhra Pradesh
8. Hockey Jammu & Kashmir
9. Tripura Hockey
10. Hockey Uttarakhand
11. I.T.B.P. Central Hockey Team
12. Olympian Vivek Singh Hockey Academy
13. Mata Sahib Kaur Hockey Academy Jarkhar – Ludhiana
14. Dhyan Chand Hockey Academy
15. Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre
16. HIM Academy
17. Mumbai Schools Sports Association
18. Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy
19. Manipur Hockey
20. Hockey Mizoram