Dhyan Chand (29 Aug. 1905-1979) was an outstanding hockey player. Born in Jhansi, India, he was considered one of the greatest hockey players of all times, having led India to many astonishing and miraculous victories—the most famous being the Berlin Olympics finals in 1936.
On the field he was named the ‘Wizard of Hockey’ for he exerted complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that the Tokyo officials broke his hockey stick to search for a magnet inside. On one occasion, a lady from the audience asked Dhyan Chand to play with her walking stick instead. He scored goals even with them!
In the most famous 1936 olympics finals at Berlin, he virtually single handedly demolished the formidable Germans. It is a legend that the great Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler called him up at the end of the match and asked him the question, “What will you take to play for Germany?” To this, Dhyan Chand replied, “Nothing sir, India is my
India”.
