Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29th August, 1905 at Prayag in Allahabad. In 1922 at the age of 16 he joined the Indian Army as a soldier.
Dhyan Chand learned to play hockey while he was in the Indian army. In 1927, at the London Folkstone Festival, Chand scored a total of thirty six goals out of the total seventy two goals scored by India, in ten matches.
In the Amsterdam Olympics India won its first ever Olympic gold medal. Major Dhyan Chand was the top scorer of the tournament with 14 goals in just 5 matches with his brilliant display of stick wizardry. In the Olympics held in Los Angeles in 1932. India defeated the host, USA by a margin of 24-1 in the final match, which was a world record at that time.
He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1937. In 1951, he was honoured by the Indian National hockey by naming a hockey tournament after him. He retired from Indian Army as a Major in 1956 at the age of 51.
No comments:
Post a Comment