The Wizard, The Magician! A look at hockey legend Dhyan Chand's resume

Dhyan Chand was born to Sameshwar Singh and Sharadha Singh He also had two brothers Roop and Mool the former was also a hockey player He was initially interested in wrestling before he took up hockey as a career When he turned 17 he enlisted in the 1st Brahmans a regiment of the British Army and the rest as they say is historyEvery time that Dhyan Chand laid his feet on the hockey field he would create magic Dhyan Chand went on to become an extraordinary hockey player and later on the biggest legend in the sport He was famous for his goalscoring records his unique dribbling skills and unmatchable speedDhyan Chand is also a threetimeOlympic gold medal winner He won golds as part of the Indian hockey team at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and 1936 Berlin OlympicsOn Dhyan Chands 41st death anniversary we bring to you some unusual and fun facts about the greatest hockey player of all timeBornAugust 29 1905Place of birth Allahabad UPDiedDecember 3 1979Resting place Jhansi Heroes Ground UPName Major Dhyan Chand SinghThe title of Chand moon was given by the people of India because he shonelike the moonFathers nameSri Someshwar DuttService record Joined the British Army ndash Punjab Regiment Services at the age of 17Retired from the army as a MajorIn peak form India hockey wizard Dhyan Chand in the 1930s Coach Early yearsSubhedar Bhole TiwariDomestic teams representedServices hockey teamJhansi Heroes TeamOlympic gloryThreetime gold medallist and captained the Indian team at 1936 Berlin Olympics1928 Amsterdam Olympics ndash Gold1932 Los Angeles Olympics ndash Gold1936 Berlin Olympics ndash GoldIn the final India beat Germany 81 This was the first time any team had won three consecutive Olympic gold medalsGerman dictator Adolf Hitler offered Major Dhyan Chand a job in the Germany army but the Indian politely turned it downThe advent of World War II cut short Dhyan Chands Olympic careerInternational fixtures1926 ndash AustraliaNew Zealand tour1927 ndash London Folkstone festival tour1936 ndash World tour1947 ndash East African tourGoals scored at olympics1928 Amsterdam Olympics 14 goals1928 Amsterdam Olympics final 3 goals1932 Los Angeles Olympics 12 goals1936 Berlin Olympics 13 goals1936 Berlin Olympics final 3 goalsOlympic heroes The 1936 Berlin Olympicswinning Indian hockey teamInternational success1926 ndash AustraliaNew Zealand tour201 goals in 43 matches1927 ndash London Folkstone Festival tour39 goals in 10 matches1936 ndash World tour 59 goals1947 ndash East African tour61 goals in 22 matchesn Dhyan Chand has scored over 1000 goals across his 25year careerLife after hockeyRetired from hockey in 1949 after playing for almost 25 yearsPromoted to Lieutenant in 1952Promoted to Major in 1952Retired from the army in 1956Served as chief coach at National Institute of Sports in Patiala from 1962 to 1978Was appointed India selector and coach of the national team on numerous occasionsThe International Olympic Committee sent him a special invitation to witness the 1972 Munich OlympicsJanuary 21 2014 Indian hockey fans hold placards in Amritsar in protest of Dhyan Chand not being awarded the Bharat Ratna earlier this year PicGetty ImagesHonours and awardsAwarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956 by thenpresident Dr Rajendra PrasadIndian Postal Department issued a commemorative stampin his memory onDecember 3 1980Govt announced the Dhyan Chand Award mdash Indias highest award for lifetime achievement in sports in 2002Govt awards meritorious sportsmen with the Dhyan Chand Award Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award at Rashtrapati Bhavan every year on his birthdayThe Sports Authority of India erected a lifelike statue of him at the National Stadium in New Delhiin 1995National Stadium in New Delhi was renamed as the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in 2002The citizens of Jhansi have erected a 30foot statue on top of the hill overlooking the cityNew astro turf hockey pitch costing GBP 250000 at the Indian Gymkhana Club in London is named after himThe 2012 London Olympics Games Organising Committee has named a metro station after himGovernment of Madhya Pradesh has named a stadium in Bhopal after himFamous quotesYou are undoubtedly aware that I am a common man first and then a soldier It has been my training from my very childhood to avoid any limelight and publicityndash Dhyan ChandIt is true that Dhyan Chand did not get his due in the country but thats how hockey is treated in India It is regretfulndash Leslie Claudius Olympic gold medalwinner in 1948 1952 amp 1956Dhyan Chand Balbir Singh Sr KD Singh Babu and Kishan Lal were the selectors in 1959 That was the first time I witnessed the magic of Dada No player could manage to get the ball from him even at that age of 54ndash Former India captain Gurbux Singh 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medalwinnerDhyan Chand scores goals like we score runs in cricketndash Cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman after meeting Dhyan Chand and watching him play in 1935Anecdotes1936 Berlin hockey managers reportManager of Indias 1936 Berlin Olympics gold medalwinning team Swami Jagannath in his tournament report said Dhyan Chand who once more proved himself as the best centreforward in the world demonstrated his worth as a great captain Held in great esteem affection and admiration by the players he was the central luminary around whom the members of the team revolvedNo Dhyan Chand No Kenya tourSuch was Dhyan Chands fan following that after the Partition in 1947 he was included in the Indian team for a goodwill tour to Kenya as the invitation had a condition mdash No Dhyan Chand no tour India won all the 28 matches with Dhyan Chand scoring 61 goalsPanditji was a fan tooAt the Padma Bhushan awards ceremony in 1956 Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said on seeing numerous medals on Dhyan Chands chest Dada Dhyan Chand you have so many medals please give me one so that I can also put it and look like a player