Boria Majumdar
Writing in 1959, this is how AS de Mello described the formation of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF): “In 1924, at the request of the now defunct Western India Hockey Association, Lieutenant Colonel Luard, who was then President of the Gwalior Sports Association, addressed all hockey associations, clubs and individuals interested in the game and invited them to a meeting in Gwalior. This meeting, which took place on November 7th, 1925, resulted in the official formation of the Indian Hockey Federation.”
At the inaugural meeting of the federation, Gwalior, Bengal, Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, Western India, Punjab University and the Army Sports Control Board were represented. For the first two years, Gwalior was treated as the headquarters, before it subsequently moved to New Delhi in 1927.
The formation of the IHF was a landmark event because it enabled international exposure for Indian players for the first time. Soon after its formation, the IHF organised India’s first international tour, the trip to New Zealand in 1926. The Indian team immediately made its mark and their wizardry proved to be a commercial success as well. The New Zealand Hockey Federation made a profit of GBP 300 after paying the Indians a healthy sum of GBP 500. The Indians ended the tour with 18 victories in 21 matches, and just one defeat. They scored a total of 192 goals, conceding 24, at an average of 9.31 goals per match. Astonishingly, the Indians registered a double-digit score in as many as nine games.
It was on this tour that Dhyan Chand tablished himself as the premier star of Indian hockey. For him, an enlisted sepoy in the Army and a man not born into privilege, unlike some of his counterparts, the opportunity to represent India was an unexpected windfall. His outright delight is beautifully portrayed in his autobiography:
“It was a great day for me when my Commanding Officer called me and said: ‘Boy, you are to go to New Zealand.’ I was dumbfounded, and did not know what to reply. All I did was to click my heels snappily, give as smart a salute as I possibly could, and beat a hasty retreat. Once out of sight of the officer, I ran like a hare to reach my barracks and communicated the good news to my fellow soldiers. And what a reception they gave me! I lost no time in getting prepared for the trip. I was not a rich man, my earnings as a sepoy being only a few rupees a month. My parents were not rich either. All thoughts of outfitting and equipping myself in the proper manner for an overseas tour of this nature had to be given up for want of sufficient resources. I clothed myself as inexpensively as possible, and my main personal outfit was my military kit…As soldiers, particularly those belonging to the Other Ranks, it was a great experience for us. Prior to this tour we could never conceive of being feted and entertained at private houses and public functions in such a glorious and enjoyable manner. We were made heroes, and on my part, if I may put it quite modestly, I proved myself a great success and left behind a great impression.”
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