Pune, Dec 30: In a unique honour, the Maharashtra government has decided to designated Indian Olympian Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav’s 98th birth anniversary on January 15, 2024, as ‘State Sports Day’ which will be followed every year, top officials said here on Saturday.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Youth Welfare Minister Sanjay Bansode in the presence of other dignitaries.

Additionally, the state government will give a grant of Rs 225,000 to each district – up from the current Rs 10,000 to celebrate the State Sports Day (Jan. 15), the National Sports Day (Aug. 29) and the Sports Week, said Bansode.

These amounts would be used as Rs 75K for the State Sports Day, Rs 50K for the National Sports Day and Rs 100K for the Sports Week, he added.

A legendary wrestler, K.D. Jadhav (Jan. 15, 1926-Aug. 14, 1984) was born in the tiny Goleshwar village in Satara district, but went down in sports history as the first sportsman of Independent India to win an individual Bronze Medal in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 in the freestyle wrestling category.

“The birth anniversary of the great sportsman Jadhav, who won India's first individual Olympic Medal, shall be henceforth celebrated as ‘State Sports Day’ on Jan. 15. It will inspire the existing and future generations of athletes to excel in sports,” said Shinde.

The State Sports Day will be marked by participation of all the top government and private sports bodies and academies, plus organising a series of sports-related events, rallies, various types of sporting competitions for different disciplines and age groups, marathons, sports camps, guidance and interaction with leading athletes, honouring national and international sports achievers, prize distribution, lectures on sports, etc.

A freedom-fighter turned athlete, Jadhav - who died in a road accident as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) - was posthumously honoured with the Chhatrapati Award (1992-1993) of Maharashtra Government, the Arjuna Award (2000) of the Centre, the wrestling avenue of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 was named after him, and conferred other accolades.

(IANS)

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