Dhyan Chand

Dhyan Chand

Dhyan Chand Singh ( Hindi : ध्यानचंद सिंह , Dhyāncand Siṃh ; born August 29, 1905 in Allahabad , Uttar Pradesh ; † December 3, 1979 in Jhansi , Uttar Pradesh) was an Indian hockey player . In addition to Richard James Allen , he was the only player involved in India's first three Olympic victories. Dhyan Chand was the outstanding hockey player of his time and is one of the best hockey players ever.

Life

Dhyan Chand was born in Allahabad , the son of an army member , but moved with his family to Jhansi as a young child . He grew up there and after a short period of schooling he joined the Indian Army in 1922 at the age of 16. He became a member of the 1st Punjab Regiment. It was there that his athletic abilities were discovered and he was increasingly appointed to selection teams. On a trip of the Indian hockey team to England, the Indians competed against the British in ten international games, of 72 goals in these ten games Dhyan Chand scored 36. Chand was appointed to the Indian national hockey team in 1928, which competed at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the final against the hosts from the Netherlands, Dhyan Chand scored two goals as a center forward in a 3-0 win.

In the 1932 Olympic Games only three teams competed. India won 11-1 against Japan and 24-1 against the Americans. Dhyan Chand scored twelve goals in the two games with his brother Roop Singh scoring thirteen. In total, India scored 338 goals in 37 games in 1932, Dhyan Chand contributed 133 goals to this record.

Dhyan Chand was also part of the Indian Olympic selection in 1936 , next to goalkeeper Richard James Allen he was the only double Olympic champion in the line-up for Berlin. In the final against the German hosts it was 1-0 at halftime, the Indians could not cope with the wet grass. In the second half, Dhyan Chand played barefoot and was able to control his game better. He scored six goals, India won 8-1.

Dhyan Chand played another twelve years and ended his playing career just before the 1948 Olympic Games in London. On extensive tours with the Indian selection, Dhyan Chand was able to demonstrate his playing ability on all continents, in 1947 he scored 61 goals in 22 games on a tour of East Africa.

In 1956 he retired with the rank of major from the Indian army, in the same year he was awarded the Padma Bhushan . In 1976 his son Ashok Kumar took part in the Olympic Games in Montreal, but the Indian hockey team only finished seventh.

Style of play

Dhyan Chand has been the leading goalscorer in the over twenty years he has played at world-class levels, but his role for his teams went far beyond that. He was always the most important passer and his ideas opened the game for the Indian team.

The starting point for his style of play was his absolute mastery of the ball, he achieved maneuvers with the stick that his opponents could not foresee because they thought things were technically impracticable. In numerous anecdotes it is said that the host teams examined his racket on his numerous international tours to see whether it was provided with a magnet or with glue.

Two-time Olympic champion Keshav Dutt said of him:

"His real talent lay above his shoulders. His was easily the hockey brain of the century. He could see the field the way a chess player sees a board. He knew where his teammates were, and more importantly where his opponents were - without looking. It was almost psychic. "

“His real talent was above his shoulders. He was simply the hockey genius of the century. He saw the field as a chess player saw the board. He knew where his teammates were and more importantly, he knew where his opponents were without looking. It was an almost visionary gift. "

- Keshav Dutt

Afterlife

Statue in Dhyan Chands residence Jhansi

• On December 3, 1980, the first anniversary of Dhyan Chand's death, the Indian Post issued a stamp commemorating Dhyan Chand.
• The Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi commemorates India's greatest athlete with a large statue.
• A statue was erected in Medak in 2005 on the occasion of Dhyan Chands centenary .
• His birthday, August 29th, is India's National Sports Day . On this day, the Indian President presents medals to deserving athletes such as the Arjuna Award .

Web links

Commons : Dhyan Chand  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Portrait on indianet (english)
• 100 People who shaped India (English)
• Dhyan Chand in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ quoted from india-today: 100 People Who Shaped India ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.