National Sports Day: Story of Dhyan Chand, India’s first sporting superstar

 The National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 in the memory of Dhyan Chand, the first superstar of Indian hockey, and arguably India’s first sporting superstar.

Here is why he means so much to Indian sports.

Wizard of the game

Quite simply, Dhyan Chand, born in Allahabad in 1905, was the first superstar of hockey, and considered a wizard of the game. He was the chief protagonist as India won three consecutive Olympic hockey gold medals — Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932, and Berlin 1936. He is said to have wowed the watching public with his sublime skills, intricate dribbling and gluttonous appetite for scoring. During those tournaments, there was no team that could compete with India — and most of India’s matches were won with huge victory margins. India beat hosts the Netherlands 3-0 in the 1928 final, the United States were thrashed by a scarcely-believable margin of 24-1 in the 1932 gold medal match, while Germany went down 8-1 in the 1936 decider. In all, Dhyan Chand played 12 Olympic matches, and scored an unbelievable 33 goals — just shy of scoring a hattrick each game!

Anecdotes and apocryphal stories

Many stories surrounding Dhyan Chand’s prowess with a hockey stick are difficult to confirm. Some are definitely apocryphal.

It is said that once his sublime skill and close control of the ball aroused such suspicion that his stick was broken to see whether there was a magnet inside. One has to remember that the game was played on natural grass in those days in contrast to the astro turf now, and the surface would often be bumpy and uneven. This made ball control more difficult for lesser mortals.

During the 1936 Berlin Games, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler — a proponent of Aryan racial superiority — was so enamoured with Dhyan Chand’s play that he offered him German citizenship and the post of Colonel in his country’s Army, a proposition that the Indian ace is said to have promptly refused.

A shining light in Indian sports

Dhyan Chand played during India’s pre-independence years, a time when the local population was subjugated and made to feel inferior by the ruling British. This is what gave his achievements on the field even more importance for Indians. Seeing an Indian dominating Europeans in a sport invented by them evoked a lot of pride.

Moreover, for a long time, hockey was the only sport in which India consistently excelled at the international and Olympic stage. In fact, starting from Amsterdam 1928, India won seven of the eight hockey gold medals at the Games. Apart from K D Jadhav’s wrestling bronze at Helsinki 1952, India had to wait until Atlanta 1996 and tennis player Leander Paes for an Olympic medal in a sport other than hockey.

There were other great contemporary players like K D Singh ‘Babu’, Roop Singh, and Balbir Singh, but Dhyan Chand’s name was always taken first.

Recognition of his achievements

Apart from August 29 being celebrated as the National Sports Day, numerous awards and other honours are named after Dhyan Chand. In 2021, the Narendra Modi government renamed the erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour, after Dhyan Chand. An award for lifetime achievement in sport was already named after him.

New Delhi’s National Stadium was renamed Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in 2002.

Written by Tushar Bhaduri

Source: Indian Express, 31/08/24

Has India finally arrived on the sporting stage?

More and more parents are encouraging their children to seek a career in sports

India is attempting to make a mark in international sport and I love the public response to this. The athletes have fans who are backing them and praying for them. I am not really worried about the medals tally. Do you judge a sportsperson only by the number of victories? What if he or she loses a close contest? Is that not worthy of a salute?

Support and fan following

The atmosphere that has been generated in our country for the support of sportspersons is what makes me optimistic. More and more parents are encouraging their children to play and seek a career in sports. They have faith that sports can provide the platform for a healthy and decent future. I have seen this change in the last decade and I am convinced that India has arrived as a sporting nation. We must be patient. The day is not far when we will be a force to reckon with on the world stage.

It is good that we have an Olympic medallist as Union Sports Minister. This is a welcome change because the athletes are beginning to believe in the system. They are earning respect.

I don’t know about records at the ongoing Asian Games in Jakarta. We may break them, we may not. But we have competed well so far. Is that not an encouraging sign, an indication that we are moving in the right direction? I know the kabaddi defeats are going to hurt big. But have we not won medals in a variety of sports, from wushu and rowing to equestrian? Times are changing, India has taken to lesser-known sports in a big way. I am sure medals in these sports will show the way forward.

When the first Asian Games ended in 1951, India had clinched 15 gold medals. We have not achieved that mark again. That does not mean that the nation has lagged. You don’t become a sporting nation overnight. There are more people watching and more and more children playing. I can’t read the future but I can say with confidence that the stage is set for India to excel. We have set the ball rolling and the intentions are good. The recent victories of the Indian junior football teams have been very heartening.

The facilities provided by the government are second to none if you see the size of the country. Without government support, sport will die. A game like hockey will collapse if there is no government backing. It will also sink if there are no good competitions such as the Hockey India League which provides financial security to the players. The government is the provider, the driving force behind sports being given priority in schools and colleges.

Constant improvement

India has begun to offer competition in games which are not big at home. This is because we have talent. In traditional games like hockey, tennis, badminton and athletics, there is impressive progress. Swimmers have begun to make a mark and promise to rake in medals. To make a big splash at the 2022 Asian Games, we must begin preparations now.

Don’t measure success from the number of medals won. You must give importance to the fact that our boys and girls are constantly improving their personal bests and are very motivated.

Potential to shine

I know my generation played for the country even though there was no money. Today, sportspersons play for the country and also for the money. Given the growing number of youngsters taking to sports, I can say that India has shown the potential to shine on the world stage.

Source: the Hindu, 31/08/2018