High time to restore lost glory

There are many among us who are great admirers of the game of hockey, and many of us have even tried with the sticks at the playgrounds during the childhood. Being an Indian and also of the country where this sport is really eulogized since it is the national sport and has also been instrumental to bring the greatest number of prizes from the international field, I do like it. But at the same time can anyone answer me why most of the Indian hockey stars of the yesteryears do spend their lives in utter disregard and do not get any recognition after the end of their glorious careers? Well, the situation is just the opposite in the case of other sports, especially cricket. In the game of cricket, nowadays, the ex-players enter into good contracts with several sports channels as commentators. But what about the hockey players. They continue to live in the same darkness, for the absence of adequate media patronage.

In this regard you will be ashamed to learn of Dhyan Chand, who is the greatest player that India has ever produced. It is said that his first coach was so impressed by the talent of this young player that he knew he would one day shine like the moon and so he gave him the name Chand. It was 1928 when Dhyan Chand made his debut in international hockey. In his very first year he was instrumental in carving out a Gold medal win in the Amsterdam Olympics. The final was played against India and Netherlands. India won the match by scoring 3 goals to none. Out of the three Dhyan Chand had scored two goals. In his career Dhyan Chand was a centre forward player. In the year 1932 he became the greatest player to help India in defending her title against the United States hockey team. Dhyan Chand scored eight goals and India cruised to a victory of 23-1. In that calendar year India scored a total of 338 goals of which Dhyan Chand's contribution was 133 goals. His performance reached the pinnacle in the 1936 Berlin Olympics where his splendid performance led to India's winning of the gold medal.

However, this legendary player after the retirement was forgotten soon and died in a hospital with a pension, which was too little to save his life. Though he was awarded with Padma Bhushan by the Government but it proved to be futile in saving his life.

What can this be called? A tragedy or the reward of an unfaithful nation? It is high time to restore the lost glory of the Indian hockey.

Posted by on Friday Nov 21 reply

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