Editor: I. Mallikarjuna Sharma Volume 11: 15-31 March 2015 No. 5-6

LEGENDARY HOCKEY PLAYER DHYAN CHAND ♣
1936 Semi Final (Courtesy: BhartiyaHockey)
Dhyan Chand was born 1905 in Prayag, now
Allahabad, in a Punjabi Rajput family. He was the
elder brother of another player Roop Singh. His
father Sameshwar Dutt Singh was in the British
Indian Army, and he played hockey in the army.
Dhyan Chand had two brothers - Mool Singh, and
Roop Singh. Because of Sameshwar Dutt's
numerous army transfers, the family had to move
to different cities and as such Chand had to
terminate his education after only six years of
schooling. The family finally settled in Jhansi,
Uttar Pradesh, India. Being in the military,
Dhyan's father got a small piece of land for a
house. Dhyan Chand died in relative poverty in
1979.
1. After seeing Dhyan Chand play at Adelaide in
1935, Sir Donald Bradman remarked, “He scores
goals like runs in cricket!”
2. 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.
3. He scored over 1000 goals in his career, from 1926
to 1948.
♣ Courtesy: Danny Legend; suitably edited; emphases in
bold ours. I too feel Dhyanchand deserves Bharat Ratna.
I also feel that he should have been given it first before
Sachin had been given. But that is now a closed matter
and so at least now he should be given that award and a
Dhyanchand National Hockey Academy should be started,
if not already there. His deserving relatives must be
encouraged and if necessary financially aided to the
extent possible. - IMS.
4. Dhyan Chand was also known as ‘Hockey Ka
Jadugar’.
5. Major Dhyan Chand’s birthday is celebrated as
National Sports Day in India.
6. He was called Chand by his team-mates because he
used to wait for the moon-rise to come out for
practice.
7. During the 1936 Olympic final against Germany,
it’s said that Dhyan Chand removed his spiked
shoes & stockings in the 2nd half and played with
bare foot. He managed to score and scored three
goals.
8. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dhyan Chand who
was the flag-bearer, refused to salute Hitler.
9. In Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to buy his stick after
watching the final match against Germany.
10. 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 (as prescribed under international rules).
11. After India played its first match in the 1936
Olympics, Dhyan Chand’s magical stick-work 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.
12. After seeing his prolific play at the 1936 Berlin
Olympics, Adolf Hitler offered Dhyan Chand, a
Major in the British Indian Army, German
citizenship and an offer to promote him to the rank
of a Colonel. But Dhyan Chand rejected the offer.
13. In Holland, the authorities broke his hockey stick to
check if there was a magnet inside. [Did this happen
in Japan too?]
14. On one occasion, a lady from the audience asked
Dhyan Chand to play with her walking stick
instead. He scored goals even with them.
15. Residents of Vienna, Austria, honored him by
setting up a statue of him with four hands and four
sticks, depicting his control and mastery over the
ball.
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Law Animated World, 15-31 March 2015