Did you know Adolf Hitler Offered Dhyan Chand a Place in German Military? 11 Facts About Hockey Legend Major Dhyan Chand

Major Dhyan Chand, one of the greatest hockey players in the history of the sport, was born on August 29, 1905. Known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, he won three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936, respectively. He is also known as The Wizard or The Magician of Hockey for his superior ball control on the field.

 

 

 

 

If India was dominant in hockey, a major contribution was from the Wizard of Hockey 'Major Dhyan Chand'. He had so much control over the ball, he truly looked magician. Having said that many are oblivious to some facts about this hockey legend. On the occasion of National Sports Day, here are some of the lesser-known facts about him-

 

 

1) Major Dhyan Chand joined the Indian army at the age of 16. In 1956, he retired with the rank of a Major.

 

2) He was called Chand by his teammates because he used to wait for the moon to come out for practice.

 

3) In honour of the greatest hockey player of all time, the National Hockey Stadium in Delhi was renamed as Dhyan Chand National Stadium in 2002. A hostel at Aligarh Muslim University, of which he was an alumnus, and an Astroturf hockey pitch, at the Indian Gymkhana Club in London has also been named after the legend.

 

 

4) During the 1936 Olympic final against Germany, Dhyan Chand removed his spiked shoes and stockings in the second half and played barefoot, and managed to score three goals. In the same Olympics, the whole city of Berlin had posters: “Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.”

 

5) Adolf Hitler was so impressed with the game of Dhyan Chand that he offered him German citizenship and the rank of Colonel in his Army.

 

 

 

6) It was during the 1962 Ahmedabad Internationals, the tussle between National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala and Indian Hockey Federation had come to fore and Dhyan Chand ended up bearing the brunt of it despite being a serving chief coach. Dhyan Chand was then the chief coach at NIS Patiala and travelled to Ahmedabad with his trainees to watch the tournament, a one-off meet organised by the first Inspector General of Police of Gujarat, JD Nagarvala, the former chairman of selectors. “He was not given admission card. A person like Dhyan Chand was compelled to stand in the queue with his wards at every match to buy tickets. It was sickening,” said Olympic gold-medallist and former captain Gurbux Singh. He in his autobiography titled “My Golden Days”, had said in the athlete.

 

7) It is said that once while playing, Dhyan Chand was not able to score a goal against the opposition team. After being unable to score despite several attempts, he argued with the referee over the measurement of the goal post, and surprisingly, it was found to not be in conformation with the official width of a goal post under international rules.

 

8) A tube station in London has been named after Dhyan Chand. An astro-turf pitch at the Indian Gymkhana Club in London is also named after him. Residents of Vienna, have set up a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks in honour of his wizardry.

 

9) The Government of India had 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.

 

10) Dhyan Chand was among the nominees considered for India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for 2014. However, he didn’t receive the award, following which his family members were disappointed with the government decision.

 

11) Dhyan Chand was really a wizard of hockey that authorities across the world broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.