The XXXI Olympiad being held currently in Rio de Janeiro 2016 (5th August - 21st August) is moving towards the business end. While the top of the medal standings has so far been more or less on the expected lines with the powerhouses such as US, China, Australia and Russia dominating the events, India risks finishing poorer than what it did in the past few Olympics. However to put things in perspective this has so far been the best performance by Indian contingent given that they have missed the cut by photo finishes  & thrillers in Shooting, Archery, Tennis & not to mention the decent performances that it had achieved in field & track events.

Although all is not yet lost in the Rio Olympics yet, we revisit the glorious days in the Olympics history when the Indian national field hockey team was a global powerhouse and exhibited its dominance in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1920 and 1980. This run included 8 gold medals total and six successive gold medals from 1928–1956. A major contributing factor was the presence of the hockey wizard Dhyan Singh “Chand” who mesmerized not only the spectators but his opponents too in a manner never seen before. Widely regarded as the greatest field hockey player ever to walk on this planet, he is fondly remembered for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats and pivoting the Indian Hockey team to the Zenith. Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control, Dhyan Singh scored more than 400 goals during his international career.

While in cricketing era we have moved on from Bradman to Richards/Sobers era to the Tendulkar era the void in the world of hockey remains even now.

A testimony to the fact is that while India celebrates its 70th Independence day this  August 15^th,  the Indian Embassy, in Berlin is having a unique exhibition on the life and times of hockey wizard major Dhyan Chand. The Germans probably regard him much higher than the Indian’s do as they were witnesses to Dhyan Chands exploits on the field in the 1936 Berlin summer Olympics.

Early Days:

Born on August 29^th, 1905 Dhyan Singh to Sameshwar Singh who served in the British Indian Army and was himself a player of hockey. Dhyan Singh was never interested in sports. However that changed quickly when he joined the Army. Dhyan Singh used to practice and hone his skills in the evening under the moon light. He earned the nickname "Chand" by his fellow players as his practice sessions at night invariably coincided with the coming out of the moon. Dhyan Chand had exceptional dribbling skills and command over the ball control and lightning quick reflexes. Like another genius of his time, if Don Bradman used to practice batting with a single stump and established himself as a cricketing genius, Dhyan Chand used to practice ball control by sprinting along the length of railway tracks while balancing the ball on the railway track.

While he started playing exclusively for the army tournaments, it was during the tour of New Zealand that led to recognition of his skills & caught attention of both the spectators and selectors. Dhyan Chand representing the Indian Army team was exceptionally skillful and the team won the first test and lost the second albeit with a narrow margin. Dhyan Chand was promoted to Lance Naik in the army.

The reintroduction of field hockey in the Olympics could not have come at a better time. After many deliberations the Olympics committee had re-introduced field hockey for the 1928 Summer Olympics which was to be held in Amsterdam.

Dhyan Chand then was playing for the United Provinces team as a center-forward. His ability to penetrate the defense and change the direction in split seconds, and stick work ensured that he was the first choice in the team that was to represent India. Dhyan Chand was always ahead of the game and could foresee if either of the two flanks were in a better position to score, he would flick the ball to the well-placed player instantly rather than keeping it with himself.

The 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics & beginning of the era:

The Indian team was pitted against Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland in Pool A. Never did one see a rookie team; the underdogs of the tournament display such a clinical performance. The Indian team made its debut against Austria, winning 6-0, with Dhyan Chand netting 3 goals. Next in line was Belgium, the margin even bigger 9-0, followed by Denmark which lost 0-5 to India. Dhyan Chand had already scored 7 goals by this time. In the semis the Indian team met with the Swiss and the outcome was hardly surprising 6-0, this time Dhyan Chand bettering his goal score for the match by scoring 4 individual goals.

The finals were an altogether a different affair, the Indian team now were the sudden favorites and had not conceded a single goal in the whole tournament. On May 26^th, 1928 India were to face the Dutch and the core team players the defense along with Dhyan Chand took ill. Not to be outdone by the sudden turn of events the India teams scrapped with a 3-0 win to clinch the pole position and thus landing the country’s first Olympic gold medal. 

1932 San Francisco Summer Olympics:

A small controversy ensued just before the beginning of the SFO Olympics. Dhyan Chand was not granted leave by the Punjab Regiment and hence could not participate in the trials. However by then he had established himself in the field of hockey that the Indian Hockey Federation made an exception to the rule and selected him for the Olympic team without him requiring being available for the trials.

India played its first match against Japan and handed team an 11-1 score card. However this was just the beginning, in what remained a World record for quite some time the Indian team bludgeoned Team USA into submission with a 24-1 thrashing. A little known fact that of the 35 goals scored by India both Dhyan Chand and his brother Roop Singh scored 25 goals between them.

After successfully defending their title the India team embarked tours of England and other European countries playing with the regional powerhouses. The Indians scored around 350 goals of which Dhyan Chand scored around 133 goals. Such was the mastery of Dhyan Chand that Dutch authorities broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.

The margin of defeats was something that was unheard of before or after the Dhyan Chand era. The scorecard seldom reflected that it was a game of hockey. So much so that when the Australian great Don Bradman met Dhyan Chand at Adelaide in 1935, after watching him play, Bradman remarked, "He scores goals like runs in cricket".

1936 Berlin Summer Olympics:

Once again after being denied permission to attend the trials Dhyan Chand was selected for the Olympic squad. The team played a practice match against the host country and lost 1-4, which was attributed to sea sickness & a long voyage. All that changed when the Olympics began with India beating Hungary, USA & Japan with a 4-0, 7-0 & 9-0 margins, again with Dhyan Chand making handsome contributions. The India team seemed to get better with each passing day and met the French in the semis. The French were knocked out 0-10 with Dhyan Chand scoring 4 goals.

A German newspaper carried a banner headline: 'The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.' The next day, there were posters all over Berlin: Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.

Meanwhile, Germany had beaten Denmark, Afghanistan and Netherlands & was to clash with India on August 15^th for the Gold medal match. Not to be over whelmed by the home crowd and the early loss to the Germans in the practice match, the folklore has it that the team saluted the congress tricolor and prayed before the match. The Germans were equally a formidable opponent and blocked Dhyan Chand with resolute determination & played rough and has just allowed 1 goal till the first half. As a result in the first half Dhyan Chand lost a tooth due to an on field collision.

Come the second half the Indian team was now more confident and with relaxed nerves launched an all-out attack and scored 7 goals and allowed the only 1 goal scored against them in the entire tournament. Dhyan Chand was said to have discarded his spikes and played with rubber soles and thus gained pace and scored 3 goals in the final.

Overall, in 3 Olympic tournaments, Chand had scored 33 goals in 12 matches. There never has been a player of his caliber till date & the hope is someone half as good as him wears the Indian Jersey in the time to come.

With the Indian Hockey team having qualified for the Quarter finals for the first time in 36 years & eventually losing out to Belgium, the hope is that they would do well in the future Olympics to come & carry his legacy forward. Till then it is important for all of us to support our Indian hockey and keep alive the fond memories of Dhyan Chand and his men who conquered the world of Hockey with grit, determination and pure magic.