5 greatest Indian hockey players

1. Dhyan Chand

Major Dhyan Chand

The greatest player to have graced the game, Major Dhyan Chand was known as ‘The Wizard’ courtesy of his brilliant stick-work and ball control. You would be shocked to know that his actual name is not Dhyan Chand. He was christened ‘Dhyan Singh' at birth and he was named Dhyan Chand by his teammates as he used to practice in the night when generally the moon, Chand, is visible.

Dhyan Chand has won three Olympic Gold medals for India, winning the Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936) Olympics. He is the highest goalscorer in hockey, with over 400 goals across his career. Watching him play, Australian legendary batsman Don Bradman paid a glowing tribute to him saying, “He (Dhyan Chand) scores goals like runs in cricket”.

The National Sports Day, where the President gives away various sports awards, is celebrated on his birthday – 29th August. India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports is named after this hockey magician – Dhyan Chand Award. He is the only recipient among hockey players of the Padma Bhushan (1956) – India’s third highest civilian award.

Dhyan Chand’s hockey stick was the subject of extensive research as it was claimed he had a magnet in his stick and that he applied glue on his stick. All of the claims were false, of course, and to prove his quality, Dhyan Chand once, reportedly, used a lady spectator’s walking stick to score a goal. The German dictator, Hitler, even offered the hockey magician German citizenship so he could represent West Germany, which the army man rejected.