Dhyan Chand, a Lance Naik in the Indian army, is arguably the finest player in the hockey world. Dhyan Chand was way too impressive in scoring goals and in his game play. So impressed was Bradman by Dhyan Chand’s play that after watching the magician at Adelaide in 1935, the Australian great remarked, “He scores goals like runs in cricket”.
Earlier, in 1928 the Indian team won its first Olympics Gold medal went on to defeat Netherlands in the final while went on to defeat the hosts USA 24-1 in the final of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1936, they faced Hitler’s Germany in the finals. Germany had made great strides in their game. But what happened after that will certainly leave you shocked.
Dhyan Chand was one player who focused upon handling and dribbling the ball more than playing for glorious moments. On one instance, the Indian captain instructed his team not to score any more goals. ‘We must teach them a lesson in ball control’, he exclaimed. The Indian players entered the German area but didn’t score still the end result of the match read 8-1 in India’s favour. Not only that, even Dhyan Chand forced Hitler to leave the stadium halfway through the match.
