India is celebrating this day (29 August) as National Sports Day. National Sports Day, yes. But do you know that on this day 119 years ago, a legend was born who took Indian hockey to great heights? Obviously, you must have understood which great person we are talking about.
Major Dhyan Chand’s birthday is celebrated as ‘National Sports Day’ in India
You understood correctly, we are talking about the magician of Indian hockey, Major Dhyan Chand. Needless to say, hockey used to be India’s pride in the Olympics, and the hero of that glory was Major Dhyan Chand. The same Major Dhyan Chand, whose birthday is celebrated as ‘National Sports Day’ in India. Various tournaments are organized across the country on this day.
Who was Major Dhyan Chand?
The man the world knows as Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad of that time, i.e., today’s Prayagraj, to Sameshwar Dutt Singh and Sharda Singh. His real name was not Dhyan Chand. His name was Dhyan Singh. Actually, his father was in the army, so following in his father’s footsteps, he also joined the army at the age of 16. At the time when he joined the army, India was under British rule. He used to practice hockey in the moonlight, due to which his friends used to call him Chand. Because of this, he changed his name from Dhyan Singh to Dhyan Chand. On 13 May 1926, he played his first match for India in New Zealand.
Participation in many Sports Events
Meanwhile, between the years 1922 and 1926, Major Dhyan Chand participated in many army hockey tournaments and regimental games. He impressed people a lot with his game. The amazing thing is that impressed by his game, the newly formed Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) decided to send a team for the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. And he was also included in this team. He was included, but no one expected that this team would do a big miracle. But the miracle happened that everyone started talking about Dhyan Chand and his game.
The Magician of Hockey
The amazing thing is that Major Dhyan Chand had such mastery in hockey that it was as if there was some magic in his hockey stick. It was as if the ball would stick to his stick and the poor players of the opposing team would just keep staring at the ball helplessly. How could the ball dare to slip from Dhyan Chand’s hockey stick and go to someone else? He was so adept at keeping the ball under his control that he became famous with names like ‘Hockey Jadugar’ and ‘The Magician’. Not only this, he also played an important role in helping India win three consecutive gold medals in the Olympic Games in 1928, 1932, and 1936. It was due to his sports expertise that the Indian hockey team used to dominate the game of hockey in the years before the Second World War. He scored more than 400 goals in his 22-year career. Surprisingly, to increase his speed on the field, he once played barefoot in the second half of the match.
Hitler: A fan of his game.
Major Dhyan Chand had magic on his wrists. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he wreaked havoc on the German hockey team in front of the German dictator Hitler, which made Hitler furious. Actually, the final match of hockey was to be played between India and Germany in the Berlin Olympics on 14 August 1936, but due to rain, the match was played on 15 August. In this match, Dhyan Chand defeated the German players. Due to which India defeated Germany 8-1 and won the gold medal. Seeing this shameful defeat of Germany, Hitler got so angry that he got up and left the stadium in the middle of the match. The biggest thing is that he was so impressed with Dhyan Chand’s game that he offered him to join the German Army with a big rank. But Dhyan Chand rejected Hitler’s offer.
Post Retirement
After 34 years of service, Major Dhyan Chand finally retired from the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in August 1956. In the same year, the Government of India honored him with India’s third highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan Award. Not only this, even after retirement, he continued to contribute to the game. He not only served as the chief coach at the National Sports Institute in Patiala but also taught in many coaching camps in Rajasthan. Eventually, this hockey magician died on 3 December 1979 due to liver cancer. The important thing is that the contribution he made in the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Olympics cannot be compared with the contribution of any other player in any sport in India.
‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’ changed to ‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.’
In view of the amazing contribution of Major Dhyan Chand in the game of hockey, the Government of India announced to celebrate National Sports Day on his birth date from the year 2012. His birthday, 29 August, is also celebrated as National Sports Day in India. Not only this, in the year 2021, the Government of India changed the name of India’s highest sports honor from ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’ to ‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.’
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