Dhyan Chand
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born |
29 August 1905 Allahabad,Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Died | 3 December 1979 (aged 74) Delhi, India |
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| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1921–1956 | Indian Army | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1926–1948 | India | {{{nationalcaps(goals)1}}} | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player, who is considered as one the greatest field hockey players of all time. He is known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team in Hockey.
Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control, Chand played his final international match in 1948, having scored more than 400 goals during his international career. The Government of India awarded him the third highest (then second highest) civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956. His birthday, i.e. 29 August, is celebrated as National sports day in India.
Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad. He was the elder brother of another hockey player Roop Singh. He was born to mother Sharadha Singh and father Sameshwar Singh. His father was in the British Indian Army, and he played hockey in the army. Dhyan Chand had two brothers – Mool Singh and Roop Singh.Because of his father's numerous army transfers, the family had to move to different cities and as such Chand had to terminate his education after only six years of schooling. The family finally settled in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Being in the military, his father got a small piece of land for a house.
Young Chand had no serious inclination towards sports, though he loved wrestling. He stated that he did not remember whether he played any hockey worth mentioning before he joined the Army, though he said that he occasionally indulged in casual games in Jhansi with his friends.
Chand joined the Indian Army at the age of 16. The Hindi word Chand literally means the moon. Since Dhyan Singh used to practice a lot during the night after his duty hours, he used to wait for the moon to come out so that the visibility in the field (during his era there were no flood lights) improved. He was hence called "Chand", by his fellow players, as his practice sessions at night invariably coincided with the coming out of the moon.
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