Unveiling Untold Anecdotes: Discover Major Dhyan Chand's Hidden Tales This National Sports Day

August 29th is celebrated as National Sports Day every year in India in honour of Indian Field Hockey Player Major Dhyan Chand. As one of the most renowned Indian Olympians, he helped Team India to three successful Olympic campaigns with a gold medal finish at the Olympic Games in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Renowned as The Magician, he was hailed as a master of ball control. Dhyan Chand is one of the backbones of the game in India, and budding hockey aspirants see him as an inspiration and a revered figure. On the occasion of National Sports Day, let's dive deep into some of Major Dhyan Chand's stories, which you may have not heard of.

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National Sports Day: Know the Unheard Tales of Hockey India Legend Major Dhyan Chand

Dhyan Chand was born as Dhyan Singh, and the addition of 'Chand' has an interesting tale. Since he had joined the British Indian Army, he did not have much time to hone his hockey skills. He did his practices at night, which led to him being recognized as Dhyan Chand.

The legendary Indian Field Hockey player was a dedicated man towards the game. During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, India was handed a loss at the hands of Germany in the exhibition round. After the defeat, he immediately called up Ali Dara. He was controversially dropped from the team, but Dhyan Chand flew him to Berlin. The Indo-Pakistani hockey star was pivotal for India's win in the Berlin Games, and Dara would go on to lead Pakistan's hockey team.

Speaking of the Berlin Olympics, during India's gold medal match, Dhyan Chand noticed that rainfall had made the surface difficult to play. He then took off his spikes at half-time and put up rubber soles. India began scoring from the beginning in the second half.

During India's fight towards freedom from the British, Dhyan Chand had sheltered iconic freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad when the police force was on the hunt for him. It remarks Dhyan Chand's devotion to witnessing a free India.

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Major Dhyan Chand was not just an inspiration, but a creative person. In 1935, India embarked on a tour to New Zealand, where he noticed that the hosts had kept long grasses in all areas except the penalty zone. Dhyan Chand, with his brother Roop Singh, kept the ball in the air with the help of their sticks and scored five goals.

The legendary field hockey star's encounter with Jawaharlal Nehru will remain iconic. Both of them met in 1952 when the field hockey icon received the Padma Bhushan Award. Pandit Nehru quipped with Chand and asked for one of his medals, as he had so many of them. In response, Dhyan Chand said, "On you Nehruji, only the rose looks good."