Wizard of Hockey : Major Dhyan Chand Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player, who is arguably the greatest field hockey player of all times. He is Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control. His birthday, 29’th August, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India every year.

1. Wizard of Hockey
Many of us have seen one of the greatest player in their respective sport playing
like Sachin Tendulkar in Cricket, Cristiano Ronaldo in Soccer, Roger Federer in
Tennis, Tiger Woods in Golf, Michael Schumacher in F1 and many more. We love
their playing style, and we have watched their many matches. But I think we are
unlucky because we have never seen Major Dhyan Chand playing hockey.

2. Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field
hockey player, who is arguably the greatest field hockey player of all times. He is
known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three
Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, during an era where
India was the most dominant team in Hockey. His influence extended beyond
these victories, as India won the men’s field hockey gold medal in seven out of
eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964.
He is 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. The Government of India awarded him the second highest
civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956. His birthday, 29’th August, is
celebrated as National Sports Day in India every year.

3. Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad. He was the elder brother
of another hockey player Roop Singh. He was born to mother Sharadha Singh and
father Sameshwar Singh. His father 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 his father’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.
Dhyan Chand is widely considered to be the best hockey player of all time. His
goal scoring ability was phenomenal and the opposition defenders were often
made to look like sitting ducks in front of this wizard from India.

4. Major Dhyan Chand was often called as ‘The Wizard’ by the legends for his
magical control over the ball. In Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to buy his stick after
watching the final match against Germany. Dhyan Chand mesmerized the
Japanese by playing with a walking stick when a woman in the stands asked him
to play with it.
In some places, opposition team players went on to the extent to break his stick
to check whether there was any special thing inside the stick as the ball always
tends to kiss his stick. Overall, he scored 1000 goals in a career spanning over two
decades. During his era there was nothing to record the brilliant play of this
magician. If it had recorded, it could have used by this generation as a tutorial
lesson. Such was the sheer intelligence he had.
Dhyan Chand learned to play hockey while he was in the Indian army which he
joined at the age of 16. He used to practice during night times and he had to do it
under moon light as there were no floodlights at that time. He was selected to
play for the Indian hockey team on the tour of New Zealand in 1926 after playing
for 4 years at domestic level.

5. Indian hockey team made its Olympic debut in 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and
went on to won the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal. Major Dhyan Chand
was the top scorer of the tournament with 14 goals in just 5 matches with his
brilliant piece of game plan. The team received a grand welcome from the
authorities and fans.
Indian team went on to win the next edition of Olympics also which was held in
Los Angeles in 1932. India defeated the host, USA with a margin of 24-1 in the
final match, which was a world record at that time. After that Indian hockey team
had tours to Europe only to be victorious at each place that they had landed.
For the next season of Olympics, Major became captain. This time games were
held in Berlin in 1936. The result was same in Berlin too as India clinched the gold
medal again. Dhyan Chand scored six goals in the final match against Germany in

6. which India had won with a margin of 8-1. At that time, Indian hockey team was
a dominant force in international arena.
Australian great Don Bradman met Dhyan Chand at Adelaide in 1935. After
watching him play, Bradman remarked, “He scores goals like runs in cricket“.
During this period his rank showed tremendous improvement in less time as he
was the superstar of Indian hockey team. He was promoted to Lieutenant rank in
1937. In 1951, he was honored by the Indian National hockey by naming a hockey
tournament after him as Dhyan Chand tournament. He retired from Indian army
in 1956 at the age of 51. He was with the rank of ‘Major’ at the time of retirement.
He had held coaching camps in Rajasthan after his retirement and later appointed
as chief coach at National Institute of Patiala.

7. Major Dhyan Chand spent his last days in his hometown of Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh,
India. Though having great legacy he died on 3 rd December, 1979 in AIIMS, Delhi
in a general ward, which is a tough fact to digest. In final days, Dhyan Chand felt
sad as he was short of money and was badly ignored by the nation.
Two months before he died, Dhyan Chand made a statement that shows his state
of mind, “When I die, the world will cry, but India’s people will not shed a tear for
me, I know them.”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. His autobiography “Goal”
was published by Sport & Pastime, Chennai in 1952.

8. India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports is the Dhyan Chand
Award which has been awarded annually from 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. Major DhyanChand remains a legendary
figure in Indian and world hockey. His astounding skills have been glorified in
various apocryphal stories and anecdotes.