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Dhyan Chand
Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979)
Major
was an Indian field hockey player, regarded by many as the
greatest field hockey player in history.[4][5][6] He was known Dhyan Chand
for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in
addition to earning three Olympic gold medals, in 1928, 1932
and 1936, during an era where India dominated field hockey.
His influence extended beyond these victories, as India won
the field hockey event in seven out of eight Olympics from
1928 to 1964.[7]
Known as The Wizard[8][9] or The Magician[10][11] of hockey
for his superb ball control, Chand played internationally from
1926 to 1949, where he scored 570 goals in 185 matches
according to his autobiography, Goal,[12][13] and over 1000
goals in his entire domestic and international career.[14] BBC
called him the "hockey's equivalent of Muhammad Ali".[14]
The Government of India awarded Chand India's third
highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan in 1956.[15] His
birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day in
India every year. India's highest sporting honour, Major
Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is named after him.[16]
Birth name Dhyan Singh
Early life Nickname(s) The Wizard, The
Magician
Chand was born in Allahabad on 29 August 1905 in a Rajput Born 29 August 1905[1]
family[17][18] to Sharadha Singh and Sameshwar Singh.[19] Allahabad, United
Chand's father was enlisted in the British Indian Army,
Provinces of Agra
where he played hockey for the army. He had two brothers –
and Oudh, British
Mool Singh and Roop Singh, the latter was also a hockey
player. Because of his father's numerous army transfers, the India
family had to move to different cities, and as such Chand had (present-day
to terminate his education after only six years of schooling. Prayagraj, Uttar
The family finally settled in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Pradesh, India)
Died 3 December 1979
Chand studied at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and
(aged 74)[2]
finally graduated from Victoria College, Gwalior in 1932.
Being in the military, his father got a small piece of land for a All India Institute of
house. Medical Sciences,
New Delhi, India
Young Chand had no serious inclination towards sports Allegiance British India
though he loved wrestling. He stated that he did not
(1922–1947)
remember whether he played any hockey worth mentioning
India (from
1947)
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before he joined the Army, though he said that he Service/ British Indian
occasionally indulged in casual games in Jhansi with his branch Army
friends.[20] Indian Army
Years of 1922–1956
Early career service
Rank
On 29 August 1922 – his 17th birthday – Chand enlisted in Major
the 1st Brahmans of the British Indian Army as a sepoy
(private).[21][22] A reorganisation of the army that year Unit 1st Brahmans
resulted in the 1st Brahmans becoming the 1/1st Punjab 14th Punjab
Regiment. Between 1922 and 1926, Chand exclusively played
Regiment
army hockey tournaments and regimental games. Chand was
Punjab Regiment
ultimately selected for the Indian Army team which was to
tour New Zealand.[23] The team won 18 matches, drew 2 and Awards Padma
lost only 1, receiving praise from all spectators. Following Bhushan
this, in the two Test matches against the New Zealand squad, Field hockey career
the team won the first and narrowly lost the second.
Height 169 cm (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Returning to India, Chand was promoted to Lance Naik in
Playing position Centre forward
1927.[21]
National team
After successfully lobbying for reintroducing field hockey in Years Team Apps (Gls)
the Olympics, the newly formed Indian Hockey Federation 1926–1949 India 185 (570)
(IHF) made preparations to send its best possible team for Medal record [hide]
the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. In 1925, an Inter-Provincial
Tournament was held to select the team members. Five Men's field hockey
teams participated in the inaugural nationals – United Representing India
Provinces (UP), Punjab, Bengal, Rajputana and Central Olympic Games
Provinces. Chand got permission from the Army to play for 1928 Amsterdam Team
the United Provinces team. 1932 Los Angeles Team
1936 Berlin Team
In its first game in the tournament, Dhyan Chand as the Western Asiatic Games
centre-forward, and Marthins, their inside-right, performed
1934 Delhi
very well together. Chand attracted much attention with his
clever stick-work. His penetrating runs and judicious passes
seemed to assure him a position in the team that is to take part in the Olympic Games. Early in the
game, it became evident that Chand was at his best. In combination with Marthins he took the ball
away to the right and Marthins did well to give him a good pass. Quick as lightning, Dhyan Chand
shot a goal. The ball struck one of the defenders' sticks and went into the net, giving goalkeeper
Collie no chance. A goal within 3 minutes of the start was more than what the most optimistic of
the UP supporters could expect. At the interval, UP led by three goals to nil.
On their part, Rajputana put every ounce of their efforts to score. The UP goal had more than one
narrow escape but were the winners of a fine exhibition match (3–1).
Buoyed by the success of the Tournament, it was decided that it would be held every two years.
After two more trial matches between various hopefuls, the Olympic team (including Chand as
center-forward) was announced and assembled in Bombay. Center-half Broome Eric Pinniger was
selected as the captain. The IHF was initially low on funds since the provinces of Bombay, Madras,
and Burma had turned a deaf ear to their financial appeal, but they managed to scrape enough
money. The Olympic team then played a match against the Bombay XI, and amazingly lost 3–2,
even though Singh scored both his team's goals. With a quiet send-off, the team left for England on
10 March, to play 11 matches against local sides as well in the London Folkestone Festival in 1927,
winning all. It was also said that Great Britain did not send a team in 1928 to the Amsterdam
Olympics after their national team was defeated by the Indian team at Folkestone. This is best
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cited in Kapur's book Romance of Hockey where a despatch of H. Sutherland Stark, London
representative of "Sports", a magazine of Lahore, tells the story better than any other comment:
"For reasons it is difficult to understand the English Hockey Association have taken up a very stiff
attitude towards Indian Hockey in recent years and have repeatedly been twitted about it by even
their own supporters. The Editor of a leading sports newspaper described them to me as an
intensely conservative body, but there seems to be something more than conservative behind their
unwillingness apparently ever to meet India in a full international encounter".[24] Finally, on 24
April, the team arrived in Amsterdam to embark on a tour of the Low Countries. In all the pre-
Olympic matches against local Dutch, German and Belgian teams, the Indian team won by large
margins.
In the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics, the Indian team was put in the division A table, with
Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland. On 17 May the Indian national hockey team made its
Olympic debut against Austria, winning 6–0, with Chand scoring 3 goals. The next day India
defeated Belgium 9–0; however, Chand only scored once. On 20 May, Denmark lost to India 5–0,
with Chand netting 3. Two days later, he scored 4 goals when India defeated Switzerland 6–0.[3]
The final match took place on 26 May, with India facing the home team of the Netherlands. The
Indian team's better players Feroze Khan, Ali Shaukat and Kher Singh were on the sick list and
Chand himself was ill. However, even with a skeletal side, India managed to defeat the hosts 3–0
(with Singh scoring 2), and the Indian team won its country's first Olympic gold medal. Chand was
the top scorer of the tournament, with 14 goals in 5 matches. A newspaper report about India's
triumph said:[25]
This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is in fact the magician of hockey.
Later, the authorities in the Netherlands in fact broke Chand's hockey stick to check if there was
any magnet inside owing to his superb ball control ability. An elderly woman asked him to play
with her walking cane and he continued to score goals with it.[26]
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.
Posted in Waziristan in the North-West Frontier Province (now in Pakistan) with his new 2/14
Punjab Regiment, Chand, by now a naik (corporal) was cut off from the IHF, which was by now
controlled by civilians.[21] The Inter-Provincial Tournament was being held to select the new
Olympic team; the IHF wrote to the Army Sports Control Board to grant Singh leaves to
participate in the nationals. His platoon refused. Chand received news that he had been selected by
the IHF for the Olympic team without any formalities. The rest of his teammates, however, had to
prove their skills in the Inter-Provincial Tournament, which was won by Punjab. As such, seven
players from Punjab were selected for the Olympic team. Apart from Chand, Broome Eric
Pinnigar, Leslie Hammond and Richard Allen were the other 1928 Olympians retained in the
team. Chand's brother Roop Singh was also included in the squad as a left-in. Lal Shah Bokhari
was selected as captain.
The Olympic team then played practice matches in India before heading for Colombo. In two
matches in Ceylon, the Olympic team beat the All Ceylon XI 20–0 and 10–0. Wrote one
newspaper on the first match,[27] "Perfection is perilous, for it tempts the gods. For once, this was
proved wrong for even the god of weather paid tribute to the genius of the Indian players. Rain
clouds, which had threatened to ruin the game, vanished into the blue, and thousands of
spectators spent a happy hour marveling at the incomparable artistry of the Indian team."
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The India team set sail for San Francisco on 30 May and arrived on 6 July. They reached Los
Angeles three weeks before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which took place on 30 July.
On 4 August 1932, India played its first match against Japan and won 11–1. Chand, Roop Singh,
Gurmit Singh each scored thrice, and Dickie Carr once. In the final on 11 August, India played
against hosts USA. India won 24–1, a world record at that time (until it was broken in 2003), and
once again clinched the gold medal. Chand scored 8 times, Roop Singh 10, Gurmit Singh 5, and
Pinniger once. In fact, Chand along with his brother Roop scored 25 out of the 35 goals scored by
India.[3] This led to them being dubbed the 'hockey twins'.
One Los Angeles newspaper wrote,[28] "The All-India field hockey team which G. D. Sondhi
brought to Los Angeles to defend their 1928 Olympic title, was like a typhoon out of the east. They
trampled under their feet and all but shoved out of the Olympic stadium the eleven players
representing the United States."
The team then embarked on a tour of the United States. They played a match on 20 August against
a United States XI, almost the same team that they had faced in Los Angeles. Even after loaning its
second keeper Arthur Hind, for a half, the team won 24–1.
After setting sail from New York, the team arrived in England. They then embarked on a hectic
tour, playing nine matches in various countries in a fortnight, commencing on 2 September. They
played four internationals against the Netherlands, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. The
team then reached Sri Lanka and India, playing a number of matches to pay for their expenses. At
the end of the tour, India had played 37 matches, winning 34, drawing 2, with one abandoned.
Chand scored 133 of the 338 Indian goals.
In India, he is often referred to as Hockey ka Jaadugar which translates to "Magician of the game
of Hockey".
Captaincy and 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
In 1933, Chand's home team, the Jhansi Heroes, participated in and won
the Beighton Cup, which he considered the most prestigious of India men's
national field hockey team tournaments. Later, he would state:[29]
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. Calcutta
Customs was a great side those days; they had Shaukat Ali,
Asad Ali, Claude Deefholts, Seaman, Mohsin, and many others
who were then in the first flight of Indian hockey.
I had a very young side. Besides my brother Roop Singh, and
Ismail, who played for the Great Indian Peninsular Railway in
Mumbai, I had no other really great player in the team. But I
had a team which was determined to do or die.
It was a great match, full of thrills, and it was just opportunism
Indian hockey captain
that gave us the victory. Customs were pressing hard and our
Dhyan Chand at 1936
goal was at their mercy. Suddenly I broke through and from
Berlin Olympics
midfield gave a long through pass to Ismail, who ran with Jesse
Owens' speed half the length of the ground. A
misunderstanding occurred between the Customs left-half and
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the goalkeeper, and Ismail, taking every advantage of it, cut throug
only goal of the match. We felt very proud of our triumph.
In Kolkata, the Heroes also won the Lakshmibilas Cup
tournament, which was open only to Indian teams. In 1935,
they successfully defended their Beighton Cup title, though lost
the subsequent year.
In December 1934, the IHF decided to send a team to New
Zealand in the new year. Chand and his brother were
immediately selected. When Moinuddin Khanji, the Nawab of
Dhyan Chand in action against
Manavadar declined to play, Chand was appointed captain. In
France at the 1936 Olympic semi-
the subsequent tour, the team played a total of 48 matches on
finals
this tour, with 28 in New Zealand and the remainder in India,
Ceylon, and Australia. India won every match, scoring 584
goals and conceding only 40. Of these 48 matches, Chand
played 23 and scored a total of 201 goals.
Upon returning to India, Chand resumed his duties in the barracks. In December 1935, the IHF
decided to stage the Inter-Provincial tournament to select the Olympic team. Chand was again
denied permission to leave his platoon, though once again he was selected without formalities. The
final team assembled in Delhi on 16 June and played against the Delhi Hockey XI. Incredibly, they
lost 4–1. After this inauspicious start, the team went on a successful tour of the subcontinent,
finally departing for Marseilles on 27 June. They arrived on 10 July, and after an uncomfortable
journey in third-class compartments, reached Berlin on 13 July. On 17 July, the Indian team
played a practice match against Germany and lost 4–1. As such, manager Pankaj Gupta informed
the IHF that Ali Dara had to be sent immediately to replace the out of form Mirza Masood.
On 5 August, India won its first match against Hungary 4–0. India won the rest of the group
matches against the USA (7–0, with Chand scoring 2 goals) and Japan (9–0, with Chand scoring
4). On 10 August, Ali Dara arrived. Their fourth match was the semi-final against France, whom
they defeated 10–0, with Chand scoring 4 goals. Meanwhile, Germany had beaten Denmark 6–0,
beaten Afghanistan 4–1, and in the play-offs, had defeated the Netherlands 3–0. Thus, India and
Germany were to clash in the 1936 Berlin Olympics field hockey final on 19 August.[3]
On the morning of the final, the entire team was nervous since
they had been defeated the last time they had faced Germany.
In the locker room, Pankaj Gupta produced a Congress
tricolour. Reverently the team saluted it, prayed and marched
onto the field. The German team was successful in restricting
the India side to a single goal until the first interval. After the
interval, the Indian team launched an all-out attack, easily
defeating Germany 8–1, incidentally the only goal scored
against India in that Olympic tournament. Newspaper reports Dhyan Chand scoring a goal
for the match stated that Dhyan Chand scored four against Germany in the 1936
goals, [30][31] while he claimed he scored three, in his Olympics hockey final
autobiography Goal, with Ali Dara scoring two, and Roop
Singh, Carlyle Tapsell and Sayed Jaffar with one goal each.
Describing the game, the Special Correspondent of The Hindu wrote:
Every member of the team was feeling the strain of the defeat to the Germans in the
practice match, and no one was in his usual self. I never saw a hockey team from India,
where the game is definitely of a superior standard compared to the rest of the world,
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being so obsessed on the eve of the match. The players were nervous as to what the
result of the match would be, which was heightened by the feeling that the burden of
the country's honour was on their shoulders.
The game was played at a fast pace and was packed with thrilling incidents. The
Germans undercut and lifted the ball, but the Indian team countered with brilliant half-
volleying and amazing long shots. Twice Dara attempted to score but was declared
offside. Dhyan Chand discarded his spiked shoes and stockings and played with bare
legs and rubber soles and became speedier in the second half.
The vigorous German attacks were brilliantly saved by Allen and Tapsell. The goal
scored by Weiss of Germany was the only goal scored against the Indians throughout
the tournament. The whole Indian team put up a splendid display. Dhyan Chand and
Dara impressed by their combination, Tapsell by his reliability and Jaffar by his
tremendous bursts of speed.
There have been many erroneous media reports over the years claiming that Dhyan Chand scored
6 goals in India's 8–1 victory over Germany in the 1936 Olympic final. In his autobiography Goal!
Chand wrote:
“When Germany was four goals down, a ball hit Allen's pad and rebounded. The Germans took
full advantage of this and made a rush, netting the ball before we could stop it. That was the only
goal Germany would score in the match against our eight, and incidentally the only goal scored
against India in the entire Olympic tournament. India's goal-getters were Roop Singh, Tapsell
and Jaffar with one each, Dara two and myself three.”
The International Hockey Federation records also attribute only three of the eight goals to Chand
in the final. The final was included in the Leni Riefenstahl film on the 1936 Olympics, Olympia.
Overall, in three Olympic tournaments, Chand had scored 33 goals in 12 matches.[3]
It is reported that the German leader Adolf Hitler was so impressed with Chand's skills that he
offered him German citizenship and a position of Colonel in the German Army, which Dhyan
Chand refused.[32][33]
East African tour and final tournaments
After returning from Berlin, Chand joined his regiment. Between 1936 and the commencement of
the War in 1939, he largely confined himself to army hockey, with one visit to Kolkata to take part
in the Beighton Cup tournament in 1937. Before the Beighton Cup, Chand spent four months in a
military camp in Pachmarhi to attend military classes. On 16 March 1938, he was made a Viceroy's
Commissioned Officer (VCO; the equivalent of the present-day junior commissioned officer) with
the rank of jemadar (now termed naib subedar).[22] With the increasing need for qualified officers
during wartime, he was promoted to acting subedar by July 1942 and to the war-substantive rank
by early 1943.[34][35] On 9 April 1943, Chand received an emergency commission as a second
lieutenant in the 14th Punjab Regiment, with the war-substantive rank of lieutenant from the same
date.[36]
Towards the closing phases of the war, Chand led an army hockey team which toured around the
battlefields in Manipur, Burma, the Far East and Ceylon. When the war ended in 1945, Chand
decided that the Indian hockey team needed new young players. In 1947, the IHF was requested by
the Asian Sports Association (ASA) of East Africa to send a team to play a series of matches. The
ASA made a condition that Chand should be included in the team. Once again, Chand was chosen
as captain.
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The team assembled in Bombay on 23 November 1947, and reached Mombasa on 15 December
and played 9 matches in British East Africa winning all. Chand, though now in his forties, still
managed to score 61 goals in 22 matches.
After returning from the East African tour in early 1948, Chand decided to gradually phase out his
involvement in 'serious hockey'. He played exhibition matches, leading a Rest of India side against
state teams and the 1948 Olympic team which defeated Chand's side 2–1, even though an aging
Chand scored his side's lone goal. Chand's last match was leading the Rest of India team against
the Bengal side. The match ended in a draw after which the Bengal Hockey Association organized a
public function to honor Chand's services to Indian hockey.
Final years
Chand continued to hold his emergency commission in the Indian Army post-Independence, with
the service number IEC 3526, but was apparently not granted a regular commission.[37] In 1951 he
was honored at India's National Stadium with the inaugural Dhyan Chand Tournament, which he
attended to the admiration of the spectators.
After 34 years of service, Chand retired from the Indian Army on 29 August 1956 as a lieutenant
(acting captain).[37][n 1] The Government of India honoured him the same year by conferring him
the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.[38]
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.
Chand died on 3 December 1979 from liver cancer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
Delhi.[39] 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.[40]
Legacy
Dhyan Chand remains a legendary figure in Indian and world
hockey. His skills have been glorified in various apocryphal
stories and anecdotes. A number of these revolve around the
fact that Singh had extraordinary control over dribbling the
ball. Chand's birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National
Sports Day in India. The President gives away sports-related
awards such as the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna, Arjuna
Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, India.
The 20th National Award, 2012, the Gem of India, awarded by
the Union Minister of India, was given to Dhyan Chand. The
award was received by Dhyan Chand's son, Ashok Dhyan
Chand (a hockey Olympian in his own right), on behalf of his
deceased father. The 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.
Dhyan Chand on a 1980 stamp of
India
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India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports is the
Dhyan Chand Award which has been awarded annually since
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.[41]
A hostel at Aligarh Muslim University, of which he was an
alumnus,[42] has been named after him.[43]
He scored over 1000 goals in his entire domestic and
international career, from 1926 to 1948, making him the
highest goal scorer in Hockey history.[14][13] BBC called him the
"hockey's equivalent of Muhammad Ali".[14]
An Astroturf hockey pitch, at the Indian Gymkhana Club in
London, has been named after Indian hockey legend Dhyan Dhyan Chand statue at Sipri hill,
Chand.[44] Jhansi.
Government of India has issued a commemorative postage
stamp and a First Day Cover in honour of Dhyan Chand. He remains the only Indian hockey player
to have a stamp in his honour.[45]
Chand was among the nominees considered for India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for
2014 and there was support for it.[46][47][48] The award was then given to Sachin Tendulkar and C.
N. R. Rao.[49] The family members of Dhyan Chand were disappointed with the government's
decision.[50] An RTI was filed which suggested that the Prime Minister's Office had ignored the
recommendation from sports ministry on giving the award to Sachin Tendulkar.[51]
Honors
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is named after him to honour his contribution to Indian
sports by Government Of India (GOI). Sports ministry every year give this award annual to
India's best performer on International level championships.[16]
Dhyan Chand award, A lifetime achievement award named after Dhyanchand.[52]
Notes
1. Chand is generally stated to have held the rank of major at his retirement, but it is unclear
when he was promoted to this rank. The Gazette of India notification of his retirement dated 20
March 1957 lists him as "Lt. (A/Capt.) Dhyan Chand (IEC 3526), Punjab."[37]
See also
Field hockey in India
List of Indian hockey captains in Olympics
Ashok Kumar
Roop Singh
References
1. "Indian hockey's famous legend Dhyan Chand's resume" (https://web.archive.org/web/201604
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