Magician and Indian Hockey ( Part I )

Hockey is India’s National Sport and has golden era before independence from 1928 Olympic Games which were held in Amsterdam, Netherlands onwards till 1956 Olympic Games which were held in 1956 Melbourne, Australia and then in 1964 Olympic Games which were held in Tokyo, Japan in all the games India won gold medal and then Indian Hockey team’s performance in International tournaments was not consistent resulting ups and downs and whenever in India Hockey remember then along with it Mr. Dhyan Chand name will pop up and shine forever as he at it’s own single handedly took Indian Hockey name at world level and today is the lucky day as on 29th August 1905 Mr. Dhyan Chand was born in Allahabad (U.P.) and India on every 29Th August celebrate as National Sports Day when the national sporting awards are handed out by the President of India at Rashtrapathi Bhavan,so it’s a pleasing feeling if I write on his birthday by remembering his achievements and in part two of this series will write India’s standing In Olympics, Asian Games and India’s current ranking in International Hockey. It’s my tribute to the greatest Sportsman produce by India in Hockey and below is detail I have found in history books relating to his life –
Mr.Dhyan Chand Singh was born on August 29, 1905 to a Bais Rajput, family in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. His father Mr. Sameshwar Dutt Singh was an Indian Army Subedar who had played hockey in the army. Dhyan Chand had two brothers – Mr. Mool Singh, later a hawaldar in the army and Mr. Roop Singh, because of his father's numerous army transfers, the family kept on moving to different cities and as such Mr. Dhyan Chand Singh could not study. He thus had to terminate his education after class six. The family finally settled in Jhansi. Being in the military, Singh's father got a small piece of land for a house. He joined the army at the age of sixteen. Lance Naik' Dhyan Chand first built a reputation for himself while playing for the army. Mr. Dhyan Chand's imposing statue at the entrance of the National Stadium (main venue of the inaugural Asian Games in 1951) is a reminder of the all-time legend of hockey who brought so much glory to both the game and the nation. The Government of India honoured him that year by conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour). The Government of India released a postage stamp in his honour on December 3, 1980, exactly a year after he died in hospital. At the Berlin Olympics in 1936 Mr. Dhyan Chand could not play for finals against Germany, as he was hurt. At half point, when India led by only 1-0 Mr. Dhyan Chand removed his shoes and entered the playing field bare feet, He took India to a stunning victory scoring 6 more goals. Adolf Hitler, the German dictator, was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's performance in the Berlin Olympic finals that he offered to elevate 'Lance Naik' Dhyan to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused politely. It was hard to believe that somebody could have the hockey skills as Mr. Dhyan Chand had. In Holland, the authorities broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside, in Japan they felt Mr. Dhyan was using some glue which made the ball stick to it. 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. It was said that once ball touch Mr. Dhyan Chand sticks then without hitting goal post of Opposition it remained intact with his stick. One of his famous statues is at the National Stadium near India Gate, New Delhi while another was erected in 2005 at Medak in Pradesh. In 1956, at the age of 51, he retired from the army with the rank of Major
• A famous incident occurred when Singh was 14. He went with his father to an army hockey match. One of the teams was down by two goals. Singh repeatedly told his father that if given a chance, he could make the losing team win. Finally an army officer allowed him to play. He went and scored 4 goals. The impressed officer inducted him into the Children's Platoon.
• A number of urban legends revolve around the fact that Singh had such control over dribbling the ball. Many say that German Olympic officials broke his hockey stick to search for a magnet inside, and tried to console themselves saying he had added some sort of glue.
• Another story goes that a lady from the audience asked Singh to play with her walking stick instead. 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.
Legends and Stories relating to the great of Indian Hockey are countless and to pick each & everyone and place here is impossible but it will be a true tribute to him if our Indian Hockey players with determination and hard work take Indian Hockey to back it’s Golden Era which lost it’s shine from Indian mind’s & heart’s at the same there is no doubt that it can be hard and daunting task but certainly not impossible, In it’s second edition I shall write Indian performances’ at Olympics, Asian Games and there current ranking.
……..to be continued……..