Major Dhyan Chand: Following India’s inspiring show in field hockey at Tokyo 2020, on Friday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi obliged the nation’s long-standing request of renaming the Khel Ratna Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
Dhyan Chand was India’s shining star in field hockey, in the pre-independence day era. His achievements are spoken to date, and his passion, will, talent, and champion mindset are also imbibed to young students. As the prestigious Khel Ratna Awards will be called after his name, here is a list of achievements produced by a legendary Indian hockey player.
- Dhyan Chand is also known as ‘The Magician’, or ‘The Wizard’, for his perfect ball control
- At the age of 16, he enrolled himself in the army
- Between 1922-1926, he played various army hockey competitions and regimental games
- During the night after his duty hours, he practiced with the stick. Because of this, he earned himself the name of ‘Dhyan Chand’. In Hindi, Chand means moon
- In 1926, Dhyan made the Indian Army hockey team for their tour of New Zealand
- Dhyan Chand helped in winning three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936
- Under Chand’s captaincy, India won gold in 1936
- From 1928-1964, out of eight Olympics, India won the seven field hockey events, due to the platform and inspiration set by the legendary player
- As per his autobiography Goal, The Magician scored a massive 570 goals in 185 matches
- In the year 1956, the Indian Government awarded the third-highest civilian honor Padma Bhushan. In the same year, he has retired from his army service
- On the occasion of his birthday, National Sports Day is celebrated on 29th August
- The national stadium situated in Delhi is named after the Dhyan Chand
- Present, the Khel Ratna Award has also been renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award