Major Dhyan Chand Singh (1905-08-29–1979-12-03) was a former Indian hockey player and Olympian he was awarded Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour. He got the title "Chand" or (moon) from his first coach, Pankaj Gupta, who had predicted that he would one day shine like a chand or moon. Dhyan Chand was affectionately called Dadda.
Dhyan Chand was born to a Rajput family in Prayag in Uttar Pradesh. His father was an army subedar. Soon afterwards he moved to Jhansi where he spent his formative years. After an early education he joined the Indian Army at the age of 16, in 1922. He was a Sepoy of the 14 Punjab Regiment. Subedar-Major Bhole Tiwari of Brahmin regiment noticed his excellent dribbling skills and knack for scoring goals.
In a match in 1927(?) he exhibited his skills against the English hockey team, netting 36 of India's 72 goals in 10 matches, at the London Folkstone Festival.
In 1928 Chand was selected to represent the Indian hockey team in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Chand helped India win the gold medal winning the finals against the Netherlands by a score of 3-0. He played in the centre-forward position and scored two of India's three goals.
In the 1932 Summer Olympics held at Los Angeles, USA, the team under Lal Shah Bukhari defended their title winning the gold. The team routed the United States hockey team 24-1, a record that exists till today. He contributed eight of those goals, and along with his brother Roop Singh formed a formidable core of the team. He scored 12 goals in India's two matches in that Olympics and he had scored 133 goals out of India's 338 in that year.
Dhyan Chand rated Beighton Cup final of 1933 as his most memorable match. The match was played between Jhansi Heroes and Calcutta Customs. Surprisingly, he did not score in that match. He only provided the vital pass for the lone goal scored by the Jhansi Heroes. On their return journey, the Jhansi Heroes were crammed in an unreserved third class compartment. However, the warm welcome received at the station made it the most memorable match for Dhyan Chand.
During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, he scored 201 goals out of the team's tally of 584 in 43 matches. Don Bradman and 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".
Initially, Dhyan Chand's regiment refused to give him the permission to go to the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin, as it was engaged in a fight with the tribals in Waziristan. However, after a second request, the permission was granted.
Dhyan Chand captained the Indian team in 1936 Summer Olympics final. His team had gone down to the Germans in a friendly match, shortly before the Olympics. But this time, India's forward line was reinforced by the inclusion of Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, who managed to reach Berlin just in time for the final.
In a patriotic note, they raised the Indian tricolour in the dressing room and sang Vande Mataram an Indian nationalist song, rather than the British national anthem, which they were obliged to sing.
Indians were leading 1-0 at the half time. In second half, they scored 7 goals. After trailing 0-6, the Germans are reported to have resorted to body play. In a clash with the German goalkeeper, Dhyan Chand broke one of his teeth, but was soon back in action. India won the match 8-1, with Dhyan Chand scoring 6 goals. A reporter said about Dhyan Chand's performance - "With a flick of the wrist, a quick glance of his eyes, a sharp turn and then another turn, and Dhyan Chand was through".
Impressed by his performance, Adolf Hitler supposedly offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field Marshal in the German army, but the latter refused. [1] Chand scored 59 out of India's 175 goals in the pre-Olympic matches and 11 out of 38 in the Olympics.
After World War II, he continued to play till the age 42. He hit a total of 61 goals in 22 matches against East Africa. In 1948 he retired from the sport.
After his retirement, Dhyan Chand earned a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, in Punjab. However he found it difficult to coach something that was innate to him.
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. One of his statues is near the India Gate, New Delhi while another has been erected in 2005 at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.
In 1956, at the age of 43, he retired from the army with the rank of Major. The Government of India honoured him that year by conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour).
Chand however died penniless and uncared for in a hospital, receiving a meagre pension. Dhyan Chand was very sad to see India finish seventh at the Montreal Olympics, 1976. The Indian team included his son, Ashok Kumar. His grand daughter Neha Singh played for India in the 1998 World Cup.[2]
When he was on his deathbed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he reportedly told a doctor that Indian hockey was dying. [citation needed]He then went into a coma and died in 1979.
A year after his death, the Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. In addition, Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi is named in his honor.
29 August, his birthday is celebrated as the National Sports Day in India. The President gives away sport-related awards such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
To commemorate his memory, the Government of India has instituted Dhyan Chand Award which is presented each year to those sportspersons who not only contribute through their performance but also contribute to the sport after their retirement.
There are many legends about Dhyan which are impossible to verify. Once, some time after the Partition of India, Dhyan Chand was seen at the Lahore railway station, on way to Peshawar as a part of the Indian team that was scheduled to take part in Joshan celebrations in Afghanistan. Thousands of his Pakistani fans rushed to the station to catch a glimpse of the wizard. The surging crowds led to breakdown of all arrangements. One of the members of the Indian team, Krishan Kumar Kakar narrated "Such was the scene on all stations right up to Peshawar where the train reached more than four hours behind the schedule."
On the field he was named the "Wizard of Hockey" for he exerted complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that the Tokyo[3]
officials broke his hockey stick to search for a magnet inside, and tried to console themselves saying he had added some sort of glue. On one occasion, a lady from the audience asked Dhyan Chand to play with her walking stick instead. He was supposidely so fast that TV analysis of his gameplay was rendered too slow! Once during a tour of Lyon in 1963, a female fan planted a kiss on Dhyan Chand despite him trying his best to avoid that.
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