Dhyan Chand Biography

Dhyan Chand was born on 29th August, 1905 at Allahabad. His father was in the British Indian army. Dhyan Chand spent most of his early time at Jhansi. At the age of 16 Dhyan Chand joined the army and took to serious hockey. In the year 1926, he was selected for the Indian hockey team slated to tour New Zealand. Thereafter, Dhyan Chand played a monumental role in India winning 3 successive Olympic hockey gold medals (in 1928, 1932 and 1936).

In the year 1934, Dhyan Chand was appointed the captain of the Indian hockey and subsequently captained the gold winning team at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. At the Berlin Olympics, Hitler was so impressed with his play that he offered to make him colonel in the German army, if he agreed to play for Germany. At the age of 43, he led the hockey team to the tour of East Africa in 1947. In this tour Dhyan Chand scored 61 goals in 21 matches that India played. After an illustrious carrier of 30 years, Dhyan Chand bid adieu to international hockey in 1949. He retired as Major and was also the Chief Hockey Coach at the National Institute of Sports. For his extraordinary achievements, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhusan in 1956. Throughout his carrier, Dhyan Chand scored more than 1000 goals. On Dec 3, 1979 this hockey legend passed away.