Dhyan Chand

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Olympic medal record
Men's field hockey
Gold 1928 Amsterdam Team competition
Gold 1932 Los Angeles Team competition
Gold 1936 Berlin Team competition

Major Dhyan Chand Singh (August 29, 1905 – December 3, 1979) was a former Indian hockey player and is regarded as the greatest ever hockey player of all times. He was part of the Gold winning Indian team in three Olympic Games (1928 Amsterdam , 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin). He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1956. He got the title "Chand" or (moon) from his first coach, Pankaj Gupta, who had predicted that he would one day shine like a chand or moon. Dhyan Chand was affectionately called Dadda. Even today Dhyan Chand is the only Indian sports person who can lay claim to be the unchallenged master of a sport.

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[edit] Early life

Dhyan Chand was born to a Rajput family in Prayag in Uttar Pradesh. His father was an army subedar. Soon afterwards he moved to Jhansi where he spent his formative years. After an early education he joined the Indian Army at the age of 16, in 1922. He was a Sepoy of the 4/1st Punjab Regiment. Subedar-Major Bhole Tiwari of Brahmin regiment noticed his excellent dribbling skills and knack for scoring goals. Born in a Rajput family of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on August 29, 1905, he was named Dhyan Singh. The Dhyan Chand family tree has 5 Olympic gold medals, 1 Olympic bronze, 1 World Cup gold, 1 World Cup silver and 1 World Cup bronze medal.

Dhyan Chand's father, Subedar Sameshwar Dutt Singh, played hockey in the army. He had 3 sons - Hawaldar Mool Singh, Major Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh.

Dhyan Chand won the gold medal in the 1928, 1932 and the 1936 Olympic Games. Dhyan Chand was married to Janaki Devi just before the 1936 Olympics. They had seven sons. They were based in Jhansi. The fourth, and most famous, Ashok Kumar, scored the goal that won India the 1975 World Cup. That remains India's only World Cup title. Ashok Kumar also won a bronze medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics, and a bronze and silver in the 1971 and 1973 World Cup tournaments respectively.

One of his two brothers was Roop Singh, who too went on to become a prolific hockey forward.Dhyan Chand's younger brother Roop Singh won the gold medal in the 1932 and the 1936 Olympic Games. Roop Singh's family was based in Gwalior. His son, Chandrashekhar played hockey for India.

After an early education he joined the army at the age of 16 (in 1922) and soon took to hockey, despite a childhood fascination for wrestling. He was a Sepoy of the 14 Punjab Regiment.

Dhyan Chand quickly came to acquire excellent dribbling skills and an uncanny knack for scoring goals. As Dhyan Chand displayed his abundant hockey skills, Pankaj Gupta, his first coach, predicted he would one day shine like a "chand" [moon]. "That is how father got his surname 'Chand'," said Ashok Kumar, his son, himself a hockey Olympian who starred in India's 1975 World Cup triumph.

[edit] The Making of the Legend

It was the final of the Punjab Indian Infantry tournament in Jhelum. His side was losing the match by two goals. With only four minutes to go, his commanding officer called out, 'Aage bado jawan, kuch toh karo Dhyan' [Go forward soldier! Do something about it Dhyan!]" Dhyan Chand did something about it. He scored three goals in four minutes to lead his team to victory.

The UP team was leading by three goals to one, and there was only a minute left for play. Hopeless as the situation looked, Punjab never gave up trying, and scored a goal to reduce the arrears to one. The spectators applauded the goal, but only half-heartedly, as if paying tribute to a plucky side who they thought were fighting in vain. Indeed, there did not seem to be time for another goal. But Feroze Khan, the Punjab centre-forward, shot away for the UP goal straight from the bully-off, went through the opposing defence and had the ball in the net before anyone quite realized what was happening.

The outstanding forward on the field was Dhyan Chand, the UP centre-forward, who is likely to be chosen for the Indian team that is to visit England and play in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Dhyan Chand, in addition to his brilliant stickwork, was the main spring of his side's attack. The opposing centre-half, Eric Pinniger, was unable to hold Dhyan Chand in check, though he was very efficient when tackling the other attackers.The crowd had been waiting for Dhyan Chand to get going, and presently they were rewarded. There came the period when Dhyan Chand demonstrated that as a centre-forward he has few equals. His dribbling was of the irresistible variety. He seemed to be able to pass opponent after opponent at will.'



In 1932, India scored 338 goals in 37 matches, 133 being Dhyan Chand's contribution. In 1947, he accompanied a young team to East Africa. Then 42 and semi-retired, he ended up the second highest scorer with 61 goals in 22 games. 'Dhyan Chand treated everybody as pieces on a board meant for his use. He'd know from his own movement how the defense was forming, and where the gaps were. In other words, he was the only imponderable, everybody else (opposition included) fell in predictable patterns around him.'

After India played its first match in the 1936 Olympics, Dhyan Chand's magical stickwork drew crowds from other venues to the hockey field.

A German newspaper carried a banner headline: 'The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.' The next day, there were posters all over Berlin: 'Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.'

After every India match, hundreds of spectators would troop down to the players enclosure and touch Dhyan Chand's hockey stick to see what trick it was that kept the ball from leaving his stick as he dribbled his way all over the field. One journalist reported: 'It looks like he has some invisible magnet stuck to his hockey stick so that the ball does not leave it at all.'

Dhyan Chand was the unanimous choice to lead India on a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1935. India played 48 matches -- including three Tests against New Zealand -- and won all of them. Of the 584 goals the visitors scored, Dhyan Chand's personal tally was 200. Don Bradman was so surprised by the number of goals that he quipped: 'Were they made by a hockey player or a batsman?'

[edit] Player

In a match in 1927(?) Chand exhibited his skills against the English hockey team, netting 36 of India's 72 goals in 10 matches, at the London Folkstone Festival.

In 1928 Chand was selected to represent the Indian hockey team in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Chand helped India win the gold medal winning the finals against the Netherlands by a score of 3-0. He played in the centre-forward position and scored two of India's three goals.

In the 1932 Summer Olympics held at Los Angeles, USA, the team under Lal Shah Bukhari defended their title winning the gold. The team routed the United States hockey team 23-1, a world record that stood until 2003. He contributed eight of those goals, and along with his brother Roop Singh formed a formidable core of the team. He scored 12 goals in India's two matches in that Olympics and he had scored 133 goals out of India's 338 in that year.

Dhyan Chand rated Beighton Cup final of 1933 as his most memorable match. The match was played between Jhansi Heroes and Calcutta Customs. Surprisingly, he did not score in that match. He only provided the vital pass for the lone goal scored by the Jhansi Heroes. On their return journey, the Jhansi Heroes were crammed in an unreserved third class compartment. However, the warm welcome received at the station made it the most memorable match for Dhyan Chand.

During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, he scored 201 goals out of the team's tally of 584 in 43 matches. Don Bradman and Dhyan Chand once came face to face at Adelaide in 1935, when the Indian hockey team was in Australia. After watching Dhyan Chand in action, Don Bradman remarked "He scores goals like runs in cricket".

In a match in 1927 he exhibited his skills against the English hockey team, netting 36 of India's 72 goals in 10 matches, at the London Folkstone Festival.

In 1928 Chand was selected to represent the Indian hockey team in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Chand helped India win the gold medal winning the finals against the Netherlands by a score of 3-0. He played in the centre-forward position and scored two of India's three goals.

On the field he was named the "Wizard of Hockey" for he exerted complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that the Tokyo officials broke his hockey stick to search for a magnet inside, and tried to console themselves saying he had added some sort of glue. On one occasion, a lady from the audience asked Dhyan Chand to play with her walking stick instead. He scored goals even with them! An artist in Vienna depicted him as having eight arms.

When everbody else thought he was going to shoot, he passed. Not because he was unselfish (and he was), but to induce surprise. And when he passed to you, you did not want to miss. On that 1947 tour, he put through a wondorous ball to KD Singh Babu, then turned his back and walked away. When Babu later asked the reason for this odd behaviour, he was told, "If you could not get a goal from that you did not deserve to be on my team."


They say you can judge a man's legend by the quality of myths that surround him. By that measure itself, Dhyan Chand was an extraordinary man. To hear tales of his craftsmanship was to wonder whether his stick was designed by Merlin himself. They broke his stick in Holland to check if there was a magnet inside; in Japan they decided it was glue; in Germany, Adolf Hitler even wanted to buy it.

The hockey wizard not only mesmerised millions within pre-partition India but became a household name in all hockey-playing nations. His deft stick-work and amazing ball control left fellow players and spectators awestruck. For two decades, until he bid goodbye to international hockey in 1948, Dhyan Chand became virtually synonymous with hockey, playing numerous matches and scoring hundreds of goals.

He was admired and feared by his opponents, who felt that the ball got stuck to his stick when he played. But his fame notwithstanding, Dhyan Chand, a centre-forward, was an innately selfless person. If he felt either of the two flanks was in a better position to score, he would flick the ball to the well-placed player instantly. To say he was an icon is correct, but only a context can provide a precise measure of such status. Gurbux Singh, 1964 Olympian, provides it when he says,"When I grew up, to achieve anything in sport was to do it in hockey." As the century turned into its last quarter, it held pre-eminence, lifted by India's first Olympic gold in 1928 and kept there till the `70s by a conveyor belt, so terribly rusted now, that rolled out champions like fast food.

In the 1932 Summer Olympics held at Los Angeles, USA, the team under Lal Shah Bukhari defended their title winning the gold. The team routed the United States hockey team 24-1, a record that exists till today. He contributed eight of those goals, and along with his brother Roop Singh formed a formidable core of the team. That particular year, he had scored 133 goals out of India's 338. He was supposidely so fast that TV analysis of his gameplay was rendered too slow!

Dhyan Chand rated Beighton Cup final of 1933 as his most memorable match. The match was played between Jhansi Heroes and Calcutta Customs. Surprisingly, he did not score in that match. He only provided the vital pass for the lone goal scored by the Jhansi Heroes. On their return journey, the Jhansi Heroes were crammed in an unreserved third class compartment. However, the warm welcome received at the station made it the most memorable match for Dhyan Chand.


[edit] 1936 Summer Olympics final

Initially, Dhyan Chand's regiment refused to give him the permission to go to the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin, as it was engaged in a fight with the tribals in Waziristan. However, after a second request, the permission was granted.

Dhyan Chand captained the Indian team in 1936 Summer Olympics final. His team had gone down to the Germans in a friendly match, shortly before the Olympics. But this time, India's forward line was reinforced by the inclusion of Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, who managed to reach Berlin just in time for the final.

In a patriotic note, they raised the Indian tricolour in the dressing room and sang Vande Mataram an Indian nationalist song, rather than the British national anthem, which they were obliged to sing.

India was leading 1-0 at the interval. It has been said that the wet pitch was to blame. Chand removed his shoes, playing barefoot whilst his teammates and opposition were wearing spiked shoes. In the second term, India scored seven goals. After trailing 0-6, the Germans are reported to have resorted to rough play. In a collision with the German goalkeeper, Dhyan Chand broke one of his teeth, but was soon back in action. India won the match 8-1, with Dhyan Chand scoring 6 goals. A reporter said about Dhyan Chand's performance - "With a flick of the wrist, a quick glance of his eyes, a sharp turn and then another turn, and Dhyan Chand was through." Images of this game can be found in the Leni Riefenstahl film, "Olympia."

Impressed by his performance, Adolf Hitler supposedly offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field Marshal in the German army, but the latter refused.[1] Chand scored 59 of India's 175 goals in the pre-Olympic matches and 11 of 38 in the Olympics.

After World War II, he continued to play till the age 42. He hit a total of 61 goals in 22 matches against East Africa. In 1948 he retired from the sport.


After seeing him play at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Hitler offered Dhyan Chand, a Major in the British Indian Army, German citizenship and a higher army post. The prolific striker politely turned it down. Dhyan Chand was part of three gold medal-winning Indian teams at the Olympics -- in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin, where he was the captain.



Initially, Dhyan Chand's regiment refused to give him the permission to go to the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin, as it was engaged in a fight with the tribals in Waziristan. However, after a second request, the permission was given.

Dhyan Chand captained the Indian team in 1936 Summer Olympics final. His team had gone down to the Germans in a friendly match, shortly before the Olympics. But this time, India's forward line was reinforced by the inclusion of Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, who managed to reach Berlin just in time for the final.

In a patriotic note, they raised the Indian tricolour in the dressing room and sang Vande Mataram an Indian nationalist song, rather than the British national anthem, which they were obliged to sing.

Indians were leading 1-0 at the half time. In second half, they scored 7 goals. After trailing 0-6, the Germans are reported to have resorted to body play. In a clash with the German goalkeeper, Dhyan Chand broke one of his teeth. But the valiant Rajput returned to the field after first aid. When the match ended, his contribution in India's 8-1 win was 6 goals.

The match was attended by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler who left midway as he couldn't bear to see his "racially superior" team being demolished. Sensing something amiss, he was ordered to change his stick, but the flow of goals continued. India won the match 8-1, with Dhyan Chand scoring 6 goals. A reporter said about Dhyan Chand's performance - "With a flick of the wrist, a quick glance of his eyes, a sharp turn and then another turn, and Dhyan Chand was through".

Adolf Hitler left his special box in a huff, after Germany's rout. Next day, he invited him for a meeting the following day. Hitler asked Dhyan Chand what post did he hold in India. On learning that the hockey wizard was a mere Naik in the Indian army, Hitler offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field marshal should he decide to live in Germany. Dhyan Chand politely refused, saying that he had a large family to look after, in India. Another version is that Hitler called him up at the end of the match and asked him the question, "What will you take to play for Germany?" To this, Dhyan Chand replied "Nothing sir, India is my India". He had scored a total of 59 out of the team's tally of 175 that Olympics.

-- Fan incidents --

Dhyan Chand was a very simple man. Once he played in an exhibition match with a women's team at Prague, after the Olympic Games. A female fan was highly impressed by his game and expressed her desire to kiss him. He stepped back, saying that he was a married person!

Once, some time after the Partition of India, Dhyan Chand was seen at the Lahore railway station, on way to Peshawar as a part of the Indian team that was scheduled to take part in Joshan celebrations in Afghanistan. Thousands of his Pakistani fans rushed to the station to catch a glimpse of the wizard. The surging crowds led to breakdown of all arrangements. One of the members of the Indian team, Krishan Kumar Kakar narrated "Such was the scene on all stations right up to Peshawar where the train reached more than four hours behind the schedule."

-- Don Bradman and Dhyan Chand --

Here's a sweet tale on the side. In 1935, Bradman and Dhyan Chand met in Australia, and it is a measure of this man's innocence that Dhyan Chand writes, "The picture of that meeting I will cherish all my life." Did Bradman know who he had met?

During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, he scored 201 goals out of the team's tally of 584 in 43 matches. Don Bradman and Dhyan Chand once came face to face at Adelaide in 1935, when the Indian hockey team was in Australia. After watching Dhyan Chand in action, Don Bradman remarked "He scores goals like runs in Cricket".

-- Dhyan Chand's last days --

It is said Dhyan Chand's greatness was elevated by the illustrious company he kept on the field; conversely, how fine he must have been to stand so taller than them all. There is a beauty to hear the grey-bearded Gurbux Singh, breathless, talking about how even in 1959, way past his best, no man at the Indian training camp could win the ball in a bully-off with him.

It makes it sadder still that even this man, as he turned grey, should tell his sons not to play hockey for it gave him so little in return. He coached for a while, then settled in his beloved Jhansi, still the fisherman, the hunter of deer, who loved to cook - but short of money.

"Once he went to a tournament in Ahmedabad, and they turned him away not knowing who he was," says Ashok (son of Dhyan Chand). "And he never saw any comfort."

When Dhyan Chand fell ill, liver cancer as it turned out, and came to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, they dumped him in the general ward. A journalist's article eventually got him moved to a special room, but the fact that public memory had to be jogged tells its own story.


In JHANSI they had a funeral, not in the ghat, but on the ground that he played on. Players came, but it seemed a little too late. It made it hard to forget the first few words of his autobiography 'Goal': "You are doubtless aware that I am a common man."

Dhyan Chand wasn't, but he died like one.



-- Honours & Awards --

August 29 is celebrated as National Sports Day when the national sporting awards are handed out by the President of India at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Dhyan Chand's imposing statue at the entrance of the National Stadium (main venue of the inaugural Asian Games in 1951) is a reminder of the all-time legend of hockey who brought so much glory to both the game and the nation.

In 1956, at the age of 43, he retired from the army with the rank of Major. The Government of India honoured him that year by conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour). However the Arjuna award for sports excellence was never awarded to him.

Government of Bharat released a postage stamp in his honour on December 3, 1980, exactly a year after he died in hospital.

Dhyan Chand won a number of awards and accolades during his illustrious career. One of the most touching gestures came from the residents of Vienna, who built a statue of the Indian with four hands and four sticks, signifying his unparallel control over the ball.

One of his statues is near the India Gate, New Delhi while another has been erected in 2005 at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.

In 2002, the union sports ministry of India introduced a Lifetime Achievement Award in sports in the name of Dhyan Chand.

[edit] Post retirement

After his retirement, Dhyan Chand earned a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, in Punjab. However he found it difficult to coach something that was innate to him.

Residents of Vienna, Austria honoured him by setting up a statue of him with four hands and four sticks, depicting his control and mastery over the ball. One of his famous statues is at the National Stadium near India Gate, New Delhi while another was erected in 2005 at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.

In 1956, at the age of 51, he retired from the army with the rank of Major. The Government of India honoured him that year by conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour).

[edit] Death

Chand however died penniless and uncared for in a hospital, receiving a meagre pension. Dhyan Chand was very sad to see India finish seventh at the Montreal Olympics, 1976. The Indian team included his son, Ashok Kumar. His grand daughter Neha Singh played for India in the 1998 World Cup.[2]

When he was on his deathbed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he reportedly told a doctor that Indian hockey was dying.[citation needed]He then went into a coma and died in 1979.

A year after his death, the Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. In addition, Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi is named in his honor.

[edit] National sports day

29 August, his birthday is celebrated as the National Sports Day in India. The President gives away sport-related awards such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

To commemorate his memory, the Government of India has instituted Dhyan Chand Award which is presented each year to those sportspersons who not only contribute through their performance but also contribute to the sport after their retirement.

[edit] Legends

There are many legends about Dhyan which are impossible to verify. Once, some time after the Partition of India, Dhyan Chand was seen at the Lahore railway station, on way to Peshawar as a part of the Indian team that was scheduled to take part in Joshan celebrations in Afghanistan. Thousands of his Pakistani fans rushed to the station to catch a glimpse of the wizard. The surging crowds led to breakdown of all arrangements. One of the members of the Indian team, Krishan Kumar Kakar narrated "Such was the scene on all stations right up to Peshawar where the train reached more than four hours behind the schedule."

On the field he was named the "Wizard of Hockey" for he exerted complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that the Tokyo officials broke his hockey stick to search for a magnet inside, and tried to console themselves saying he had added some sort of glue. On one occasion, a lady from the audience asked Dhyan Chand to play with her walking stick instead. He was supposidely so fast that TV analysis of his gameplay was rendered too slow! Once during a tour of Lyon in 1963, a female fan planted a kiss on Dhyan Chand despite him trying his best to avoid that.[3]

[edit] Dhyan Chand Hobbies

In those days, shikar, or hunting was not yet banned by the government. Dhyan Chand owned a licensed army gun which he would use for hunting. He also loved to fish, and like every fishing enthusiast, he would spend hours fishing.

Cooking was his other favourite hobby. He had labels stuck on different daals, or pulses, so that he could easily locate them. For him, cooking was a source of joy, especially when he prepared and served food to close friends. Dhyan Chand was a non-vegetarian. He enjoyed making mutton and fish dishes. He liked making halwa dripping with ghee. He had a habit of drinking milk while standing up. He believed that in this manner, the milk went straight into the body system.

His indoor pastime was billiards. He had an orthodox style of playing billiards, and he would handle the cue in a very odd way. However, once he started scoring, like in hockey, he never stopped. After retirement in Jhansi, he used to play billiards till late in the night.

Dhyan Chand also played cricket well, and was good at batting due to his strong wrists. He enjoyed hitting sixes and fours. Many times at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, he used to play cricket with small children. Later in life, he used to play carroms with his sons.

Dhyan Chand loved photography. He did not have the money to buy an expensive camera, so he carried a very old camera and took pictures with it whenever he could.

Dhyan Chand admitted that he was not a good social mixer. While at home or during play, he kept to himself. He thought that it would be better if he kept quiet and just did his duty or job.

[edit] See also

  • Ashok Kumar Singh, his son and former Indian hockey player.
  • Roop Singh - brother of legendary Dhyand chand,Himself a legendary Player.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Great Indian Olympians, quoting Rifaquat Ali, who was Dhyan Chand's assistant coach in the National Institute of Sports, Patiala.
  2. ^ Great Indian Olympians
  3. ^ Hockey year book 2006, quoting Charanjit Singh, the former Indian captain

[edit] References