It is tempting to assume that if a metro station in London and a street in Germany were named after a player, they must belong to one of Europe’s footballing greats. Yet, the honor belongs instead to the greatest ever to grace the game of field hockey—the wizard, Major Dhyan Chand. With over 400 international goals and more than 1,000 career strikes, Dhyan Chand averaged over three goals per game—a statistic that would even eclipse the awe-inspiring numbers of a certain Don Bradman in cricket.
In those days, without the luxury of floodlights, the great magician would wait for Chand—the moon in Hindi—to light up the field so he could practice tirelessly after duty hours. It was this habit that earned him the now-legendary name: Chand.
Dhyan Chand announced himself on the national stage in spectacular fashion, inspiring his team to a thrilling comeback by scoring a hat-trick in the final four minutes of a match to overturn a 1-3 deficit into a 4-3 victory against Uttar Pradesh. While his goal-scoring exploits are well chronicled in history, his vision from midfield—threading precise passes, orchestrating attacks, and unlocking defenses with silky little penetrative runs—was equally extraordinary. With him on the field, India’s goals were not just expected; they were inevitable.
Selection for the Olympic contingent between 1928 and 1936 became a mere formality. Dhyan Chand not only led India to an unbeaten run across three Games but also dismantled opponents with effortless grace. The team, once seen off by just three people at the Bombay harbor, returned home to be greeted by thousands—a measure of the wizard’s aura and dominance at the Olympics.
So captivating was his brilliance that Adolf Hitler himself, after witnessing his audacious display at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, offered him German citizenship and a military promotion—offers he politely declined. Yet, while the world celebrated him in his time, India accorded him his due recognition largely posthumously. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that the nation truly began to honor his legacy. Today, celebrating National Sports Day on his birthday is the least a country can do for the man who defined sporting artistry.
Regardless of the honors that followed, the wizard remains—and will forever remain—an immortal in a nation blessed with thousands of sporting superstars.