Former greats revive long-standing demand for Bharat Ratna honour to late hockey legend; say he deserved it before cricket icon Sachin
Newâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Delhi: Former greats yesterday revived the long-standing demand for Bharat Ratna to late hockey legend Dhyan Chand with some saying the "wizard" should have been given the honour ahead of cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar.
Dhyan Chand
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Former captains like Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal, Dilip Tirkey and Dhyan Chand's son Ashok Kumar gathered at Jantar Mantar in the hope that the government will fulfil their demand and confer Bharat Ratna to the legend who guided India to Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
"We have all gathered here in the hope that dada Dhyan Chand gets the honour which is long overdue. But we can only hope that he gets it. It is the political will that matters.
"The same was the case when Sachin Tendulkar was conferred with the honour (in 2014). It makes no difference to his stature, whether dada (Dhyan Chand) gets the award or not.
Former India hockey players including Dhyan Chand's son Ashok Kumar (third from right), Zafar Iqbal (to Ashok's right) at a demonstration in front of a sand image of the hockey legend at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi yesterday. Dilip Tirkey is secon from left. Pic/PTI
But he should get it as he is most deserving for the recognition," Iqbal told PTI.
The clamour for the award to Dhyan Chand has resurfaced after he missed out on the honour in 2013 when Tendulkar was chosen for the country's highest civillian honour ahead of the hockey legend.
Ajit Pal, who captained India to victory in 1975 World Cup, said Dhyan Chand should have been the first sportsperson to get the honour.
What a player
"People world over know him. He is known as a wizard of hockey and we have heard so many stories about him. If any sportsperson deserves the honour, it is him. He should have been the first one to get it. He played and won gold medals when India used to travel on bullock carts, there was extreme poverty.
His sacrifice for the game is huge. "The earlier governments erred in not giving him the award. I hope this government rectifies this mistake," said Ajit Pal Singh.
On Tendulkar getting the recognition ahead of him, Ajit Pal added: "I don't want to compare any sportsperson with him. Dhyan Chand played when we were still under British rule.
The rewards that you see nowadays for winning medals were not there at that time. It was an era where one played for the applause and not for monetary benefits because there were none."
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