" Today our National Sports Day. Our loving Hockey player
Major Dhyan chand birthday is celebrated as our National
Sports day"
Dhyan Chand (29 August Tuesday
1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player, who is
widely considered as the greatest field hockey player of All
Time.[1] Chand is most
remembered for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning
three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932,
and 1936)
in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team inHockey.
Known as “The Wizard” for his superb
ball control, Chand played his final international match in 1948, having scored
more than 400 goals during his international career.
Dhyan Chand joined the Indian Army at
the age of 16, Between 1922 and 1926, Chand exclusively played army hockey
tournaments and regimental games. Chand was ultimately selected for the Indian Army team which was to
tour New Zealand. The team won 18 matches, drew 2 and lost only 1, receiving
praise from all spectators. Following this, in the two Test matches against the
New Zealand squad, the team won the first and narrowly lost the second.
Returning to India, Chand was immediately promoted to Lance Naik.
A newspaper report about India's
triumph said
“
|
This is not a game of hockey, but magic.
Dhyan Chand is in fact the magician of hockey.
|
”
|
On returning to India, the team was
received by thousands of people at the Bombay harbour, compared to the three
people who had seen them off.
In India he is often referred to as
'Hockey ka Jaadugar' with translates to "Magician of the game of
Hockey". It is also rumored Chand used to practice ball control by
sprinting along the length of railway tracks while balancing the ball on the
track rail. Among the rumors regarding his skills, one that stands out is that
Hitler offered Dhyan Chand German citizenship and a position in the German
Military following his exceptional performance in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Last days
In 1951, Captain Dhyan Chand was honored
at the National Stadium—with Dhyan Chand tournament. Satinder Mullick remembers
that Dhyan Chand took him and children of Capt. Kashmira Lal, Sports secretary
of Army Hockey Federation Dhyan Chand was
staying in Jodhpur Mess. He was admired by all at the National Stadium.
In 1956, at the age of 51, he retired
from the army with the rank of Major. The Government of
India honored him the same year by conferring him
the Padma Bhushan (India's third
highest civilian honour).
After retirement, he taught at coaching
camps at Mount Abu, Rajasthan. Later, he accepted the position
of Chief Hockey Coach at the National
Institute of Sports, Patiala, a post he held for several years.
Chand spent his last days in his hometown of Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Dhyan Chand died on 3 December 1979 at
the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.[7] He was cremated at
the Jhansi Heroes ground in his
hometown, after some initial problems in getting clearance. His regiment, the Punjab
Regiment, accorded him full military honours.
Legacy
Even today, Dhyan Chand remains a
legendary figure in Indian and world hockey. His astounding skills have been
glorified in various apocryphal stories and anecdotes. A number of such these
revolve around the fact that Singh had a magical control over dribbling the
ball. 29 August, Chand's birthday, is celebrated as National Sports
Day in India. The President gives away
sport-related awards such as theRajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, India.
The Union Minister of India gives away 20th
National Award 2012, namely Gem of India, to the magician of hockey i.e. Major Dhyan
Chand. The award was received by his son Ashok Dhyan Chand (hockey Olympian
himself) on behalf of his late Hon'ble father; award was given by Journalist Association of India under the flagship
of Journalists Federation of India, Sirifort
Auditorium, New Delhi, India, on 22 September 2012.
India's highest award for lifetime
achievement in sports is the Dhyan Chand Award which has been
awarded annually from 2002 to sporting figures who not only contribute through their
performance but also contribute to the sport after their retirement. The National
Stadium, Delhi was renamed Dhyan
Chand National Stadium in 2002 in his
honour
Astro-turf hockey pitch, at the Indian
Gymkhana Club in London has been named after Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand.
In 1956, at the age of 51, he retired
from the army with the rank of Major. After he retired he coached for a while,
then settled in his beloved Jhansi. However,The last days of Dhyan Chand were
not very happy, as he was short of money and was badly ignored by the nation.
Once he went to a tournament in Ahmedabad and they turned him away not knowing
who he was. He developed liver cancer, and was sent to a general ward at the
AIIMS, New Delhi.
·
Once, while playing a hockey game, Major
Dhyan Chand was not able to score a goal against the opposition team. After
several misses, he argued with the match referee regarding the measurement of
the goal post, and amazingly, it was found to not be in conformation with the
official width of a goal post under international rules).[11]
·
After India played its first match in the
1936 Olympics, Dhyan Chand's magical stickwork drew crowds from other venues to
the hockey field. A German newspaper carried a banner headline: 'The Olympic
complex now has a magic show too.' The next day, there were posters all over
Berlin: Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in
action.[11]
·
Legend has it that the Fuhrer was so
impressed by Dhyan Chand's wizardry with the stick that he offered the Indian a
chance to move to Germany and the post of Colonel in his army, which the Indian
is said to have declined with a smile.[citation
needed]
·
During a match with Germany in the 1936
Olympics, Dhyan Chand lost a tooth in a collision with the particularly
aggressive Germany goalkeeper Tito Warnholtz. Returning to the field
after medical attention, Dhyan Chand reportedly told the players to "teach
a lesson" to the Germans by not scoring. The Indians repeatedly took the
ball to the German circle only to backpedal.[12]
·
Cricket world's legend Don Bradman and Hockey's
greatest player Dhyan Chand once came face to face at Adelaide in 1935, when the
Indian hockey team was in Australia. After watching Dhyan Chand in action, Don Bradman remarked "He
scores goals like runs in cricket"[11]
·
Residents of Vienna, Austria, honoured him by setting up a statue of him with four
hands and four sticks, depicting his control and mastery over the ball.[13]
·
A tube station has been named after him in London, along with 358 other past and present Olympic heroes,
in the run-up to the Games, starting on 27 July 2012. The Transport for London
has brought out a special 'Olympic Legends Map', detailing all 361 tube
stations. Only six stops have been named after hockey players, with the three
Indians - Dhyan Chand, Roop Singh and Leslie Claudius - cornering the majority.
·
In the Netherlands, the authorities broke his
hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.
