By Boria Majumdar
On Dhyan Chand’s birthday, this is a special tribute to the legend who united India in a manner that few have ever been able to do. His name and aura spread far beyond Indian shores and, despite coming from the humblest of backgrounds, he embodied the Indian dream—uniting people in their aspirations and pursuits. Through hard work and discipline, he made Indian sport the toast of the world and, in doing so, gave every Indian a sense of self-respect and pride. His multiple Olympic gold medals spoke one language: we can. India can.
Here are four stories from Dhyan Chand’s career that celebrate the legend and echo that same message—United India through Sport.
1.‘Can I See My Trousers in the Sun?’: Dhyan Chand and the Spirit of India
Winning the first gold medal in 1928
Men’s hockey first appeared at the 1908 Olympic Games in London. It reappeared in Antwerp in 1920, returning to stay from the 1928 Amsterdam Games onwards.
The Indian team, which reached London on 30 March 1928, was put up in a pension at South Kensington. Skipper Jaipal Singh, then a student at Oxford, discovered Dhyan Chand—a Lance Naik in the Indian Army—a man of incredible talent. Jaipal recalled: “He was humble. He had only one pair of trousers. I took him to Austin Reed on Regent Street. We went downstairs. Trousers galore were shown. ‘Can I take them upstairs and see them in the sun?’ That finished me.”
Dhyan Chand eventually scored 14 of India’s 29 goals in Amsterdam. And when the Indians trounced Holland 3–0 in the final, the press back home went wild. One report titled How India Won Honours suggested that 40,000 people went into raptures over the brilliant exhibition of hockey by the Indians.
It was in Amsterdam that the legend of Indian hockey was created. Soon after the win, the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, sent a telegram to team manager B. Rosser. In London, the victory became a source of nationalist celebration for the Indian community. Indian women organised a tea party in the team’s honour and presented them with turbans on their way back. They were also entertained at lunch in Veeraswamy’s by Dr Paranjpe, a member of the Indian Council.
And when the team reached Bombay, it was welcomed by a huge throng of adoring fans. Mole Station overflowed with a wildly cheering crowd trying to glimpse the new heroes. Among them was Dr G.V. Deshmukh, the Mayor of Bombay, who accorded the team a civic reception, and a representative of the Governor, who sent a congratulatory message. Sport had started to unite the country and capture the national imagination under Dhyan Chand like never before.
2.“Nowadays I hear of the princely comforts provided for national teams travelling overseas! When we used to travel, the name of our country and the game were the only two things that mattered.” — Dhyan Chand
India’s title defence at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
On the way to the Games, when the boat carrying the Indians docked at Aden, the team practised full throttle in the four hours available. This was possible only because of the aura of Dhyan Chand.
Soon after arrival in Aden, the visitors searched for a hockey ground and found the regimental training field of the 5/14 Punjab Regiment, then stationed there. The regiment, unaware of the team’s arrival, was puzzled but delighted to see their countrymen. Once the nets were put up, the Indians asked an officer if the ground could be used. An unnamed player later recounted that at first, “He hesitated but as soon as he discovered we were the All-India team and that Dhyan Chand was with us…he allowed us to play.”
The name of Dhyan Chand worked like magic. Once the regiment learnt of the team’s arrival, the bugle was sounded, and in five minutes the entire battalion came out to watch. It was an impromptu Indian reunion united through sport. The officers, embarrassed that Dhyan Chand and his team had come unannounced, hastily arranged a civic reception for the world champions
3.Standing Up for a Cause
In Berlin, the Indians under Dhyan Chand carrying the flag created a stir at the opening ceremony by refusing to offer the raised-arm salute to Hitler during the march-past. They were the only contingent, apart from the Americans, not to perform the salute.
This was a grand gesture of defiance, in perfect alignment with the dominant stream of Indian nationalism at the time. It was breathtaking in its audacity, in direct opposition to most other contingents, including the British. It sent a message back home and elevated Indian sport for a cause like never before. Dhyan Chand, a simple Lance Naik in the army, had become its torchbearer.
4.Barefoot Dhyan Chand and Those ‘Flickering Sticks’: The Hat-Trick
Against all expectations of a resurgent German team, Dhyan Chand and his men crushed Germany 8–1 to win their third consecutive gold in Berlin in 1936. Three sub-headings in one Indian newspaper summed up the mood: India’s Triumph, Science Scores Over Force, Dhyan Chand in Form.
The report left little doubt about India’s overwhelming supremacy: “In the second half, science triumphed over force. The skill of Indian forwards, assisted by a hardworking trio of halves, brought goal after goal. The vast crowd rose as one as the Indians made raid after raid, completely outwitting the home defence with their speed, stickwork, and uncanny accuracy.”
Goal after goal bewildered the Germans. Dhyan Chand, discarding stockings and spiked shoes for rubber soles, increased his speed manifold. He scored six of the eight goals. German newspapers, until then predicting a home victory, were full of praise for the Indians. One correspondent wrote: “These players glided over turf as if on a skating rink, and their flickering sticks mesmerised the Japanese.” He concluded: “Nature seems to have endowed Indians with a special aptitude for hockey.”
The legend of Indian hockey and its affinity with the ‘Orient’ was burnished further. Indian folklore insists that Hitler personally offered Dhyan Chand an officer’s commission in the Wehrmacht if he played for Germany. This is almost certainly apocryphal, neither contemporary reports nor Dhyan Chand’s autobiography mention it.
Soon after the victory, the Viceroy congratulated the team. The German Consul General in India sent a message to Sir Jagdish Prasad, president of the IHF: “Please accept my heartiest congratulations on India’s hockey team’s remarkable performance at the Berlin Olympic Games. The world’s best team won the final.”
On their way back, the team stopped over in London, where lore has it that they met Douglas Jardine, already a cricket star for his role in the Bodyline controversy. Reports claimed Jardine stopped his car and posed for a photograph with Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh.
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