The Wizard of field hockey Major Dhyan Chand.
Born on 29th August 1905 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India ;
Dhyan Chand is widely considered to be the best hockey player of all time.
Here are some interesting facts about him :
1. Dhyan Chand joined the British Indian Army at the age of 16 as a sepoy and took up hockey while he was still enrolled. Since he used to practice a lot during the late night hours, he was given the nickname "Chand" by his fellow players; his practice sessions at night coincided with the coming out of the moon. ‘Chand’ means moon in Hindi.
2. As a young boy he loved Wrestling, but destiny had already set a bigger role for him.
3. German dictator Adolf Hitler offered Dhyan Chand German citizenship and a position in the German Military, after an impressive showing at the Berlin Olympics. The offer was declined by the Indian magician.
(Not sure about this one )
4.The fear of Dhyan Chand’s marvellous game play forced the officials in Netherlands to break his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.
5. In 1936, Dhyan Chand lost a tooth when he collided with German goal keeper Tito Warnholtz.
6.Dhyan Chand helped India in earning three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932 and 1936), and has scored over 400 goals in his career spanning 22 years (1926-48).
7. After India’s first match at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, people watching other sporting events thronged to the hockey stadium. A German newspaper carried a banner headline: 'The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.' The whole city of Berlin had posters: “Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.
8. Dhyan Chand was the leading goal-scorer at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics with 14 goals. A news report about India’s victory said “This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is, in fact, the magician of hockey.”
9. In the 1932 Summer Olympics, India beat USA 24-1 and Japan 11-1. Dhyan Chand scored 12 goals while his brother Roop Singh netted 13 out of the 35 goals India scored. This led to them being dubbed the 'Hockey Twins'.
10. His birthday, 29th August, is celebrated as the National Sports Day in India and the President gives away awards such as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya awards on this day.
11. Dhyan Chand was honored with Padma Bhushan in 1956.
12. Dhyan Chand Award is given by the Ministry Of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. Of India for lifetime achievement in the field of sports and games. The award was initiated in 2002.
13. Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Dhyan Chand scored an important goal in the 1975 Kuala Lumpur Hockey World Cup to win the Gold Medal in a match against Pakistan.
This hockey legend has made India proud with his achievements,
but the sad part is despite of being the best he has not been awarded with Bharat Ratna.
Source : Wikipedia, sportskeeda.com, google.