Home >> Special Events
Untitled Document

How apposite is the celebration of our National Sports Day?

August 29, Dhyan Chand's birthday, is observed as National Sports Day in India. We pause to give tribute to the Hockey Immortal from Col. A. I. S. Dara, Pakistan's first Olympic captain. Dara writes:

"Juggler, magician, wizard. Whatever Dhyan Chand was called, there was no doubt that this lightly built hockey genius was a giant among players. He was a thorough gentleman who never lost his temper.

During the final of the 1936 Olympic Games, the Germans decided to play rough after 6 goals had been scored against them. Going for Dhyan Chand, the German goalkeeper removed one of his teeth. Returning to the field after receiving first aid, Dhyan Chand instructed us not to score any more goals. "We must teach them a lesson in ball control," he said. So we repeatedly took the ball up to the German circle and then back-passed to dumbfound our opponents.

A sports club in Vienna built a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks, as if he were some diety. To those Viennese, at least, he certainly was, because they said that no ordinary man with two hands and one stick could play so well."

In an age where county matches in England get better coverage, when birthdays of 'star' cricketers' are days of reckoning, when the 12th man's fracture of his little pinky gets 'Top Story' status, it is but normal if the kid next door thinks Dhyan Chand had something to do with Chandamama comics. The truth is most of us don't know and don't care who Dhyan Chand was, to correct the little kid.

 This is just small walk down memory lane to see if there is any justification for our indifference to this sport. When one reminisces about Indian hockey, one can only talk about the Golden Era - 1928 to 1956 when we won the Olympic Gold consecutively for 6 years. It's a record that is likely to stand through the ages. But who cares if we won gold in our Olympic Games debut?

The dream run came to an end in the 1960 Rome Olympics final which we lost to Pakistan 0-1. Some say the magic came to an end when astro-turf was introduced. But the Indian team still came back to win the Olympic Gold in Tokyo(1964) and Moscow(1980).

The Indian Hockey team set records of many sorts during their dream run. The 1928 Olympics saw no goal scored against them. 1928, 1932,1936 -- 3 Golds and only 3 goals conceded, Richard James Allen was the goalkeeper of these 3 Olympics. In the 1932 LA Olympics, India beat USA 24-1.

How did USA score that one goal?

The backs had decided to let the Americans have a run, but when they looked behind, there was no goalkeeper. The Indian goalkeeper Richard Allen was signing autographs behind the goal post!

Like an awestruck Dutch journalist wrote :

The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of these tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. It only proceeds on its way when a player has bestowed a nod on approval on it.

May 26, 1928 -- The Amsterdam Games marked the debut of a Lance Naik from the Indian Army. The incomparable 'Hockey Wizard' Dhyan Chand Singh. Of the 29 goals stored in Amsterdam, 14 were by him. He belonged to an era of Hockey greats yet he stood taller amongst them all. Dhyan Chand scored over a thousand goals in a career spanning 1926 - 1948.
Dhyan Chand is to hockey what Bradman is to cricket and Pele is to soccer.

In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, India beat Germany 8-1. Hitler was so impressed with Dhyan Chand's wizardry that he offered to elevate Dhyan Chand's status to a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. He turned down the offer.

The ultimate tribute was paid to him by a sports club in Vienna, which built a Statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks. According to them, no ordinary man with two hands and one stick could have played so well. Every age produces its own genius. But the only hockey wizard of the 20th Century has been Major Dhyan Chand, the king among centre-forwards.

Yes, Dhyan Chand's birthday 29th August is celebrated as National Sports Day but damn it! I didn't know that until I read it in wikipedia. Most achievers and their achievements are relegated to the Trivia Hall of Fame; just another statistic that would help us score in a quiz or a GK test paper in school. Nothing more and nothing less.

For all his brilliance on the field, he died an ordinary man without a hefty bank balance. If this is the way we treat our Star players, we have no bloody right to complain about anyone not performing in the international arena.

Photo and Text Courtesy: Wills Book of Excellence – Hockey