Major Dhyan Chand and Adolf Hitler
Reflexes
- The eldest Dhyan Chand was born in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in 1905.
- Dhyan Chand joined the Indian Army in 1922.
- The German dictator Hitler had made many tempting offers to Major Dhyan Chand
National Sports Day: Major Dhyanchand is such a name in the history of Indian sports that hardly anyone knows about it. National Sports Day is celebrated every year on August 29 in the country. This day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. Major Dhyan Chand dunked around the world with his hockey stick. He had won gold medals for India at three consecutive Olympic Games. Seeing his game and passion, the German dictator Adolf Hitler was also impressed by him.
How Major Dhyan Chand became the wizard of hockey
The eldest Dhyan Chand was born on August 29, 1905 in the Allahabad (now Prayagraj) district of Uttar Pradesh. After receiving education from him, he took a vow to serve the Indian Army as a soldier in 1922. After this, he was inspired by Subedar Major Tiwari to play hockey. Dhyan Chand started playing hockey under his supervision. He was designated as ‘Lance Nayak’ in 1927 due to his brilliant performance in hockey. He was later promoted as Nayak in 1932 and Subedar in 1936. In the same year he became the captain of the Indian hockey team. Also in the army he was later promoted to lieutenant, then captain and finally major.
Dhyanchand failed Germany’s move
Actually, there is an incident 11 years before India gained independence. On August 15, 1936, the Indian hockey team led by Dhyan Chand put on a charismatic performance and won the gold medal by defeating Germany in the Olympic final in Berlin. In this match Hitler was present on the field and for Germany’s victory the ground was wet so that the Indian players could not play in light shoes.
In the final of the Berlin Olympics, the Indian players had a lot of problems until half time. But after the break, Major Dhyan Chand did something that shocked Hitler himself along with all the spectators in the stadium. Dhyanchand decided to go barefoot onto the pitch after the break. As a result, India defeated Germany 8-1 to win the gold medal.
Hitler was also affected by ‘Dadda’!
Commander Dhyan Chand was also affectionately called ‘Daddy’. Hitler was so impressed by Major Dhyanchand’s play in the Olympic final that he offered Dadda German citizenship and offered him the rank of field marshal in his army. After the Olympics, Hitler invited them to dinner. Hitler had also offered him an offer to play hockey for Germany, but Major Dhyan Chand turned it down, saying that his country is India and he would only play for him. This moment was the proudest moment for India.
Achievements of Major Dhyan Chand
Major Dhyan Chand scored over 400 goals in his career while he has around 1,000 goals to his name throughout his career. The Indian government honored Dhyan Chand with the third highest civilian honor in the country, the Padma Bhushan, in 1956. At the same time, to pay tribute to the great player, the Indian government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to celebrate his birthday as National Sports Day in 2012. From then to date, his birthday i.e. 29th August is celebrated as National Sports Day in India.