Major Dhyan Chand

Major Dhyan Chand

Dhyan Chand, (born August 29, 1905, Allahabad, India—died December 3, 1979, Delhi), Indian field hockey player who was considered to be one of the greatest players of all time.

Chand is most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, while India was dominant in the sport. He joined the Indian army in 1922 and came to prominence when he toured New Zealand with the army team in 1926. After playing in the 1928 and 1932 Olympic Games, Chand captained the Indian team at the 1936 Games in Berlin, scoring three goals in the 8–1 defeat of Germany in the final match. During India’s victorious world tour of 1932, he scored 133 goals. 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.

In 1956 he retired from the army with the rank of major. His son, Ashok Kumar Singh, was a member of India’s Olympic field hockey teams in the 1970s and scored the winning goal in the 1975 World Cup championship.

Let us look at a few interesting facts about the legend.

•  Chand joined the Indian Army at the age of 16 and took up hockey while he was still enrolled. Since Dhyan Singh used to practice a lot during the night, he was given the nickname "Chand" by his fellow players; his practice sessions at night invariably coincided with the coming out of the moon. ‘Chand’ means moon in Hindi.
• Dhyan Chand was the leading goal-scorer at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics with 14 goals. A news report about India’s victory said “This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is, in fact, the magician of hockey.”
• Even though Dhyan Chand was involved in many memorable matches, he considers a particular hockey match to be his best. “If anybody asked me which was the best match that I played in, I will unhesitatingly say that it was the 1933 Beighton Cup final between Calcutta Customs and Jhansi Heroes.”
•  In the 1932 Summer Olympics, India beat USA 24-1 and Japan 11-1. Dhyan Chand scored 12 goals while his brother Roop Singh netted 13 out of the 35 goals India scored. This led to them being dubbed the 'hockey twins'.
• Once, when Dhyan Chand was unable to score in a match, he argued with the match referee about the measurement of the goal post. To everybody’s amazement, he was right; the goal post was found to be in contravention of the official minimum width prescribed under international rules.
• After India’s first match at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, people watching other sporting events thronged to the hockey stadium. A German newspaper carried a banner headline: 'The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.' The whole city of Berlin had posters: “Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.”
• According to widespread reports, German dictator Adolf Hitler offered Dhyan Chand German citizenship and a position in the German Military, after an impressive showing at the Berlin Olympics. The offer was declined by the Indian magician.
• Australian great Don Bradman met Dhyan Chand at Adelaide in 1935. After watching him play, Bradman remarked, "He scores goals like runs in cricket".
• Dhyan Chand has scored over 400 goals in his career spanning 22 years (1926-48).
• Hockey authorities in the Netherlands once broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.