Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: Tributes were paid to the icon of Indian hockey, Dhyan Chand, on his 108th birth anniversary that was celebrated as the National Sports Day throughout the state today.

It was an eventful day for the sports fraternity with friendly marathons, kabaddi matches and felicitations taking place at various events.

The sports and youth services department of the state organised a mini walkathon early in the morning where athletes from various sports hostels in the capital city paid respects to the legendary Dhyan Chand by offering garlands to his picture at the Kalinga Stadium and then took a walk from the Stadium to the Batallion Square.

The Acharya Vihar Yuva Parishad hosted a rally for young and old residents of the city around Acharya Vihar.

A friendly kabaddi match was also hosted between sports hostel students during the afternoon. Though rain tried to play spoilsport, there was no dearth in enthusiasm as the match continued under showers. There was also felicitation ceremonies hosted by sports aficionados for achievers from the state in various disciplines.

“I am glad people in the state are encouraging sportspersons now,” said young athlete Srabani Nanda.

“Sports is a vast area, but irrespective of which sport one plays, one common point is the hard work. More labour one puts in, more are chances of the person achieving success. I am working really hard with my coaches to win a gold medal in the upcoming Asian games,” said the athlete.

Prominent athlete Anuradha Biswal was also present at the event at Red Cross Bhavan. “The day holds great significance as it reminds us about the legendary sportsperson, who represented India at the global stage and brought back laurels,” she said.

In the hockey cradle of Odisha, the steel city Rourkela, there was a friendly hockey match between girls of Rourkela Steel Plant XI and Bhilai Steel Plant XI at the Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium.

The Rourkela Steel Plant XI won the match 3-0. Earlier in the morning, there was a ceremony of paying floral tributes to a portrait of Dhyan Chand at the Panposh Hockey Hostel at Hockey Chowk in Rourkela.

Celebrations were also seen in Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and various other regions of the state.

These were attended by sports personalities who were either themselves felicitated or who were at the event to award young sportspersons.

“We must all draw inspiration from our biggest sport star Dhyan Chand. All Indian sportspersons, irrespective of their discipline, have the responsibility of carrying on his legacy. There should be sports in everyone’s life, especially during school and college days. Annual sports day or event should be transformed into monthly competitions. This will help us get better sportspersons as well as more followers of sports,” said Dilip Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain turned Rajya Sabha member.

Berhampur celebrations missed their youth icon, weightlifter Ravi Kumar.

The Olympian told The Telegraph that he is at present at the Indian camp in Patiala preparing for 2014 Commonwealth Games. As a message on the occasion of National Sports Day, he said that the state needed to see an increase in sporting events.