When Dhyan Chand & Co defied Hitler

[vicky sen]

They had the gift to mesmerise opponents and crowd alike. Few know Dhyan Chand and his teammates had the guts as well to defy the Fuhrer at his backyard.

In fact, a new book suggests, India was one of the only two contingents -- America being the other -- which refused to salute Adolf Hitler during the opening ceremony of the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

"Olympics: The India Story" by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta sheds light on an obscure but glorious chapter of Indian sports and relives how a bunch of mostly unsuspecting, rustic Indians went on to make a stupendous political statement in a grand gesture of defiance.

The book narrates the opening ceremony of the Berlin Games, which was as much a Nazi propaganda vehicle as a sporting extravaganza. Hindenberg, the giant Zeppelin, whirred over the stadium as Hitler arrived for the guard of honour amid great fanfare.

The Indians, Dhyan Chand carrying the flag, were arguably the most dazzling contingent in their light blue turban and golden outfit, resembling a 'marriage procession', as one of the players later remarked.

"But this was no ordinary 'marriage procession' its members were about to make a huge political statement by becoming one of the two contingents who refused to salute Hitler," the book recalls.

The crowd watched in dismay as the Indians did not offer the Nazi salute and while their gesture went largely unnoticed back home, it created quite a stir in Germany, the book claims.

"For most journalists, the Americans were the story of the Games but the Indian decision not to salute Hitler was a grand gesture of defiance, totally in sync with the tenets of the dominant stream of Indian nationalism and the Congress Party," the book says. Its authors admit there is no concrete evidence to suggest that there was a direct linkage between the athletes' gesture and the Congress party but maintain it was a political gesture nonetheless.

"...The fact remains that it was a political act, breathtaking in its audacity, in direct opposition to most other contingents at the Games, including the British," they observe.

They also doubt the veracity of the sporting folklore that Hitler was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's sorcery with the stick that he offered him an officer's commission in the Wermacht.

"This story is almost certainly apocryphal because none of the contemporary sources mention this incident and neither dopes Dhyan Chand in his autobiography," they say.



For the record, India crushed Hitler's Germany 8-1 in the final to complete their golden hat-trick in Olympics.


http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/W...r/1/11962.html

 

[Kurama]

The Indian who captivated even Hitler

The hockey wizard not only mesmerised millions within pre-partition India but became a household name in all hockey-playing nations. His deft stick-work and amazing ball control left fellow players and spectators awestruck.

For two decades, until he bid goodbye to international hockey in 1948, Dhyan Chand became virtually synonymous with hockey, playing numerous matches and scoring hundreds of goals.

He was admired and feared by his opponents, who felt that the ball got stuck to his stick when he played. But his fame notwithstanding, Dhyan Chand, a centre-forward, was an innately selfless person. If he felt either of the two flanks was in a better position to score, he would flick the ball to the well-placed player instantly.

Legend has it that after seeing him play at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Hitler offered Dhyan Chand, a Major in the British Indian Army, German citizenship and a higher army post. The prolific striker politely turned it down.

Dhyan Chand was part of three gold medal-winning Indian teams at the Olympics -- in Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin, where he was the captain.

Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on August 29, 1905, he was named Dhyan Singh. One of his two brothers was Roop Singh, who too went on to become a prolific hockey forward.

As Dhyan Chand displayed his abundant hockey skills, Pankaj Gupta, his first coach, predicted he would one day shine like a "chand" [moon].

"That is how father got his surname 'Chand'," said Ashok Kumar, his son, himself a hockey Olympian who starred in India's 1975 World Cup triumph.

Dhyan Chand took to hockey in his teens, and quickly came to acquire excellent dribbling skills and an uncanny knack for scoring goals.

During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, his second trip Down Under, he scored 201 goals out of the team's 584 in 43 matches.

Before the 1928 Olympics, he exhibited his skills in England, netting 36 of India's 72 goals in 10 matches at the London Folkstone Festival. Then, at the Amsterdam Olympics, he netted twice in India's 3-0 win over The Netherlands in the final.

In the 1932 Olympics, when India famously drubbed the United States 24-1 -- still a world record for the biggest margin of victory -- Dhyan Chand's contribution was eight goals. The same year, he netted a whopping 133 goals out of India's 338.

His hunger for goals was seemingly unending, and in 1936 he continued his prolific form. On the Indian team's world tour, he pumped in 59 goals out of the team's tally of 175.

But Dhyan Chand was probably at his zenith during the Berlin Olympics. The Germans were so scared of him that they resorted to rough play in the final, leading to Dhyan Chand losing a tooth. But the valiant Rajput returned to the field after first aid, and when the match ended, his contribution in India's 8-1 win was six goals.

Even after crossing age 42, Dhyan Chand continued to score virtually at will, as he banged in 61 goals to help India win all its 22 matches in East Africa in 1947-48. It was then that he stopped playing international hockey.

After his playing days, Dhyan Chand earned a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports at Patiala, in Punjab. But he was not as successful as he found it difficult to explain things that came to him so natrually as a player.

Dhyan Chand won a number of awards and accolades during his illustrious career. One of the most touching gestures came from the residents of Vienna, who built a statue of the Indian with four hands and four sticks, signifying his unparallel control over the ball.

In 1956, the Indian government conferred on him the Padma Bhushan - he was never presented the Arjuna award though -- and released a postage stamp on December 3, 1980, exactly a year after he died in hospital, apparently uncared for.

 

[vicky sen]

Post retirement and death

In Jhansi they had a fueral, not in the ghat, but on the ground he played on. Players came, but it seemed a little too late. It made him hard to forget the first few words of his autobiography `Goal': "You are doubtless aware that I am a common man." He wasn't but he died like one.

After his retirement, Dhyan Chand earned a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, in Punjab. However he found it difficult to coach something that was innate to him.

Residents of Vienna, Austria honoured him by setting up a statue of him with four hands and four sticks, depicting his control and mastery over the ball. One of his statues is near the India Gate, New Delhi while another has been erected in 2005 at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.

In 1956, at the age of 43, he retired from the army with the rank of Major. The Government of India honoured him that year by conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour).

Dhyan Chand however died penniless and uncared for in a hospital, receiving a meagre pension. Dhyan Chand was very sad to see India finish seventh at the Montreal Olympics, 1976.

It makes it sadder still that even this man as he turned grey should tell his sons not to play hockey, for it gave him so little in return. He coached for a while, then settled in his beloved Jhansi, still the fisherman, the hunter of deer, who loved to cook -but short of money. "Once he went to a tournament in Ahmedabad and they turned him away not knowing who he was," says Ashok kumar(his son). "And he never saw any comfort."

When he fell ill, liver cancer it turned out, and came to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, they dumped him in the general ward. A journalist's article eventually got him moved to a special room, but that public memory had to be jogged tells its own story. When he was on his deathbed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he reportedly told a doctor that Indian hockey was dying. He then went into a coma and died in 1979.

A year after his death, the Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. In addition, Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi is named in his honor.29 August, his birthday is celebrated as the National Sports Day in India. The President gives away sport-related awards such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

- See more at: Post retirement and death | Sankalp India Foundation

 

[Capt.Popeye]

A great Hockey player and a great man too. As school-boys we went upto him on the sidelines of National Hockey tournament to get his autograph. He was then about 60. He said "Arey bacche-log; Hockey khelte ho kya ?" When we replied that we did, he said "Kal subah aana aur apne sticks lekar aana". Next morning at 10, we were there. Who should we see, but Dhyan Chand and his brother Roop Singh in shorts with their own sticks. They gave us a thrilling display of dribbling and passing back and forth while moving up and down the field. Then worked with us on some our plays, giving us tips all the time. We got more than 2 hours of their time. What a time with the "Wizards of Hockey".
The next day, was the finals. And as usual it was between Services and Railways. Between the two teams, they had the entire Indian Olympic team that had won the Tokyo Olympic Gold. Services won and the Wizard Brothers were happy because it was their home team. But my own hero was Shankar Laxman of Services who kept the Goal for the Indian Team as I did for my school's junior team.
Years later I was able to meet up with another Olympian Great; Leslie Claudius in Calcutta. But there was no hockey on the agenda then. Shared some "elbow bending exercises" over good Scotch and a good 'sing-song session', both activities that he was very fond of!