Dhyan
Chand
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Dhyan
Chand was born on 29 August 1905, in Allahabad, U.P. He joined the
army at the age of sixteen. Lance Naik' Dhyan Chand first built a
reputation for himself while playing for the army.
At the Berlin Olympics in 1936, Dhyan Chand could not play for
finals against Germany, as he was hurt. At half point, when India
led by only 1-0 Dhyan Chand removed his shoes and entered the field
bare foot. He took India to a stunning victory scoring 6 more goals.
Adolf Hitler, the German dictator, was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's
performance in the Berlin Olympic finals that he offered to elevate
'Lance Naik' Dhyan to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to
Germany. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused. |
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It was
hard for people to believe that somebody could have the kind of hockey
skills Dhyan had. In Holland, the authorities broke his hockey stick to
check if there was a magnet inside, in Japan they felt Dhyan was using
some glue which made the ball stick to it.
Dhyan Chand scored over a thousand goals in a career spanning 22 years
(1926 -1948), more than any other hockey player in the world. A sports
club in Vienna built a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four
sticks. To the Viennese, it seemed that no ordinary man with two hands
and one stick could have played as well as Dhyan. |
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Fundu
Fact |
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Inspite of all his achievements Dhyan Chand was a simple man. His
autobiography `Goal' begins with the words "You are doubtless aware
that I am a common man!" |
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