Indian field hockey gold medalist Dhyan Chand dies
On December 3 1979 the Olympic gold medal-winning field hockey player Dhyan Chand dies in Delhi India.Born Dhyan Singh in August 1905 he got his more well-known last name when his first coach predicted his talent would allow him to shine like a chand or moon.True to the coachs prediction Chand became famous in pre-partition India and throughout the world for his prowess on the hockey field.
His legendary ball control and stick handling skills were immortalized in a statue erected in Vienna which depicts Chand as a man with four arms and four sticks.Chand joined the Indian army in 1922 and gained international attention when he toured New Zealand with the army team in 1926.As a center forward Chand led a dominant Indian team to three Olympic Games including Amsterdam (1928) Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936).He scored two goals in Indias 3-0 win over the Netherlands in the finals of the 1928 Olympics in 1932 when India whipped the U.S.
team 24-1 Chand scored eight times.During the Berlin Olympics rough play by the German team in the final knocked out one of Chands teeth.After receiving first aid he returned to the field eventually netting an impressive six goals in Indias 8-1 victory.Chand retired from international hockey in 1948 after scoring a career total of more than 400 goals.
In 1956 he retired from the army with the rank of major.That same year he was awarded the Padma Bhushan the third highest honor in India given to reward distinguished service of a high order to the nation in any field.Chands son Ashok Kumar Singh would play hockey as well scoring the game-winning goal in Indias 1975 World Cup win.
Despite his glory as a player Chands later coaching career was largely unsuccessful and he was perennially short of money by the time he died after a battle with liver cancer in 1979.
