Latest Buzz going on in Cricket arena these days lays emphasis on Champion cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to be awarded with Bharat Ratna. However, should not it be the way that for the games highest civilian honor Dada Dhyan Chand should be the first candidate and number 1 contendor? Former Olympian and national selector Col Balbir Singh who wrote the book on Indian hockey's golden era said Dhyan Chand should get this award so much already. He deserves the award, first in sports. Today's generation did not saw him play , so he is not so popular as Tendulkar, but we heard with people round him that player like him are not born in the world again. He really was the Wizard of hockey. Cricket is watched and played by barely a dozen countries, the hockey the national sport of India, the global game and is therefore far more Dhyan Chand's contribution as compared to any other sportsmen. Under current rules, any player can not be given Bharat Ratna. Sur queen Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, former cricket captain Kapil Dev, Ajit Wadekar and veterans, including current captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is voicing Bharat Ratna to Tendulkar. Dhyan Chand was given the Padma Bhushan in 1956. Moscow 1980 Olympic gold medal winning member of the team Zafar said Tendulkar won the World Cup, but Dhyanchand three Olympic titles (1928 Amsterdam, 1932, Los Angeles and 1936 Berlin) pointed to the country. I am not against Tendulkar to be given this honor, but should not it be the beginning with Dhyan Chand? The 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, the architect of India's title win there Aslam Sher Khan said cricket due to record data all know how many runs or centuries cricketer hit, but due to no records data at that times, no one knows how may goals dada (Dhyan Chand), scored. Glamour, due to media attention and money to play cricket in India is the largest. To the Bharat Ratna issue, then it should be given to the player who ate dry bread and water to drink and made country proud.
Even though Dada Dhyan Chand has passed away many years ago, he is still revered in India for his sheer magic that he brought in the game of hockey. In the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics, the Indian team was put in the division A table, with Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland. On May 17 the Indian national hockey team made its Olympic debut against Austria, winning 6-0, with Chand scoring 3 goals. The next day India defeated Belgium 9-0; however Chand only scored once. On May 20, Denmark lost to India 5-0, with Chand netting 3. Two days later, he scored 4 goals when India defeated Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals. India won the final against the home team Netherlands with 3-0. A newspaper report about India`s triumph said: This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is in fact the magician of hockey. On returning to India , the team was received by thousands of people at the Bombay harbour, compared to the 3 people who had seen them off.
The India team set sail for San Francisco on May 30, and arrived on June 6. They reached Los Angeles three weeks before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which took place on July 30. On August 4, 1932, India played its first match against Japan and won 11-1. Chand, Roop Singh, Gurmit Singh each scored thrice, and Dickie Carr once. In the final on August 11, India played against hosts USA. India won 24-1, a world record at that time, and once again clinched the gold medal.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics final was watched by a crowd of 40,000 that included top Nazi officials like Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels, Joachim Ribbentrop and the Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler. When the match ended with India defeating Germany 8-1, there was complete silence over the vast stadium. Hitler was to have presented the gold medals to the Indian team, but Hitler had left earlier, in frustration and in anger. The next day, Hitler asked to see Dhyan Chand. When he received this message, Dhyan Chand became very worried. He had heard stories of how Hitler used to get people shot as he was a dictator. Dhyan Chand could not eat properly and spent a sleepless night. In the morning Dhyan Chand went to meet Hitler. The German dictator welcomed Dhyan Chand warmly in his private box and showed him his view of the stadium. Hitler asked Dhyan Chand what he did in India. Dhyan Chand replied that he was a soldier in the Indian army. Hitler offered him a high post in the German army and requested him to come and live in Germany. Dhyan Chand politely refused, saying that his family is settled in India, and it will be difficult for him to relocate to Germany. Hitler said he understood his position and ended the meeting.
Dhyan Chand is probably the first position to meet Hitler personally. There are many accounts of Dhyan Chand's famous meeting with Hitler, but this is what he had recounted to his family and close friends.
Everyone says that Tendulkar is best cricketer and far more better human being. He always says that he respects all games and respect the contribution of players for the Nation. When everyone is voicing for Bharat Ratna for Sachin, it should be his morale(as everyone says he is a guy with great morale), he himself should come up and voice for award for dada Dhyan Chand. However, he stays dumb as always. He was quite even when he was not the first to score 200 in an ODI, and now also he does the same.
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