I write this as a memoir to Major Dhyan Chand who remains the
best hockey player the sport has ever produced. He was instrumental in India's
first three gold medals at field hockey and to capture the hearts of many a fans
globally. Be it in New Zealand, or continental Europe, in Americas or in Asia -
he played the sport with such talent, it was not surprising India naming hockey
as its national sport post independence.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
To begin with, hockey was not a straight forward choice he
had to make growing up. In fact, if one thing was certain, it was joining Army
and that he did. His father was with the army and so too his elder brother. Growing
up, hockey to him was merely a sport which he played outdoors with his friends occasionally
as he put it in his autobiography - 'for the fun of it'.
By the time he was seventeen years of age, he had enrolled
himself as a Sepoy with the First Brahmin regiment in Delhi. That was in 1922
and six years separated him and India's first Olympic gold medal. It was a long
shot as Summer Olympics had resumed just two years prior (1920 Antwerp Games) after
the World War I and Winter Olympics had not even started. Without any formal
education he started his career with the Army as a Sepoy and 34 years later he
would retire from the services as a 'Major'. And if not for field hockey, he
would have been just another 'jawan' whose
story would not have seen the light.
HIS FIRST MENTOR
It was by accident Dhyan Chand encountered Bale Tiwari - who then was a Subdedar-Major in the army
and a keen hockey enthusiast. Luck has it, hockey remained the only outdoor
sport which was played by the first Brahmin regiment. Bale Tiwari initiated
Dhyan Chand into playing this sport and thereby became his first mentor so to
speak. There were no restrictions on the play times; they played whenever they
found time. An aloof individual who seldom socialised outside the hockey field,
Dhyan Chand expressed himself the best with his hockey stick and his play - a
trait which remained with him throughout his life. His seniors took good notice
of his play and his big break came when he was selected to play for his
regiment at the annual military tournament in Delhi.
Dhyan Chand's regiment won and since then his position as a
centre-forward never came under threat. Bale Tiwari taught him two important
lessons - 'Never to dribble for a long time and keep passing the ball as one
has no right to keep the ball to himself' and 'Marksmanship at the goal'. These
two advices served him in good stead as he performed remarkably well in the
years leading up to 1926 when his first international call came about.
A TRIP ABROAD
Dhyan Chand had restricted himself in playing hockey in army
tournaments and his first trip abroad was to New Zealand representing the
Indian Army. The tournament was more seen as an extension of military
expedition than a friendly tour. He was an 'Other Rank' by then and had many of
his mates from the same cadre who accompanied him on the tour.
They played near to flawless games in the three months they spent
in New Zealand travelling to many places and leaving a everlasting impression of
the way Indian hockey was played. Dhyan Chand emerged out as a champion and was
feted in many a places and parties during the tour. In total, the team played 21
matches winning 18 of them, losing just one with the other two games ending in
a draw. A total of 192 goals were scored and a mere 24 goals were conceded!
FORMATION OF IHF
At the end of the tour, Dhyan Chand was promoted to the rank
of Lance-Naik. Around this time in 1926, an association of hockey was formed in
India. The IHF (Indian Hockey Federation) took no time to persuade IOC to
reinstate the sport of hockey at the Olympics. Hockey was scrapped for the 1924
Olympics edition and there was uncertainty hovering many enthusiasts if hockey
would ever be included at the Olympics. But there were other questions which had
to be answered. If India were to send a team to the Olympics, will the civilian
team include men from the army? Dhyanchand until then had never played for any
civilian team and this he feared - should not play against him when the Olympic
team was to be considered. Those initial fears were brushed aside as the
president of the IHF happened to be Major Burn-Murdoch.
India's request to participate at the Olympics was accepted
by the IOC and thus began a grand process of selecting the team bound for
Amsterdam. The IHF had these worries - whom to select from the very few
provincial teams that were available? and what would be the manner of
selection. In the end, IHF decided to hold selection trials in Kolkata - as the
crowd always turned in good numbers be it for any sport. And other reason
being, the Bengal Hockey Association remains the oldest hockey association in
India established in 1908 and many of the provincial hockey associations only
came into existence after 1926.
INTER-PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENT
Five teams namely - Punjab, United Provinces (UP), Bengal,
Rajputana and Central Provinces took part in this tournament which also served
as a selection trial for the selectors. Kolkata hosted the tournament.
Dhyan Chand on the basis of his birth was asked to play for UP and he was as
nervous as any player could be for many reasons, with one being; he was playing
for a civilian club with many unknown faces.
Going into the first match he was visibly nervous as many
selectors eyes were on him and wondered whether an army man would fit into a
civilian team? Dhyan Chand played the game the way he knew - displaying the
skills of irresistible variety which included dribbling, moving past the
opponents with ease, giving prudent passes to his teammates and scoring goals
whenever opportunities came along. Then came the finals which the UP team won
with ease. The Statesman of Kolkata wrote - "The United Provinces were the
most impressive side of the five teams which have taken part in the tournament,
and they fully deserved their success. UP won the final virtually in the first
seven minutes when they scored two goals."
Thus on 16th February 1928, history was created by the United
Provinces team as they became the winners of the first national hockey
tournament. Few players from the winning team would also be part of the
historic team which won the Olympic gold: Dhyan Chand (forward), George Marthins
(forward), Frederic Seaman (forward), William Goodsir-Cullen (half-back) and
Leslie Hammond (back).
THE FIRST EVER OLYMPIC TEAM
The difference between players who took part in the
inter-provincial tournament were small and often negligible. Yet, there were
decisions that had to be made to select a team of players who would represent
India at the Olympics. A further two matches were held. IHF XI vs. Central
Provinces (as they had been knocked out in the first match) on the same day as
the finals. The second game was played on the next day between Probables and
Possibles.
Very next day, a provisional Olympic team was supposed to be
announced, only to be delayed by another match between Probables and Rest of
India. The two selectors Major Burn-Murdoch and Colonel G.P.W. Hill had a tough
few days and it was decided that only thirteen players would be chosen from the
list of players available.
A few hockey players were already in England studying and
representing the university in hockey. Jaipal Singh, a full-back player for
Oxford University was a natural choice to captain the side and were to join the
squad in England. A. B. Rosser, a founding member of IHF and the secretary of
Bengal Hockey was a natural choice for the post of the manager.
 |
| The Indian hockey team selected for the 1928 Olympics Image Courtesy: The Hindu |
FUNDS SHORTAGE
Owing to funds shortage, only eleven players were guaranteed
to take the boat. Bombay, Madras and Burma all turned a deaf ear when an appeal
was made to raise the funds. The entourage needed 15,000 INR and two players
namely Shaukat Ali of Bengal and R.A Norris of CP were sidelined as a result of
it. Bengal Hockey Association stepped in again and ensured funds were raised
and the team of thirteen players were set to make their journey.
Also before embarking on this historic journey, the top
governors from IHF had a meeting with the players taking their points of view
on continuing the national championship event. Players were encouraged to give
their views and this resulted in having a national championship tournament
every two years at a different venue. The second edition was decided to be held
in Lahore. When compared to today's situation, administrators seldom interact
with current hockey players which explains the pathetic state the sport is in
at the moment when compared with the golden years of Indian hockey.
QUIET SEND-OFF
The team selected for the Olympics assembled in Mumbai on
March 8th 1928. They played a match against Bombay XI - which they lost. Not a
good omen for their long journey ahead, however no issues were created. On
board the P&O Kaiser-i-Hind, the players were given a quiet send-off.
Just
three persons bid them god-speed at the Ballard Pier which included the IHF
President and Vice-President and a journalist S. Bhattacharjee.
Major
Burn-Murdoch, a pioneer who will be remembered for his work to promote hockey
in India was responsible for Indian hockey's first overseas tour in 1926, formation
of IHF and for sending the team to Amsterdam for the Olympics. Charles. E.
Newham, the Vice-President was a journalist by profession and was the President
of Punjab Hockey Association. He was also the editor of Military Gazette,
Lahore and later edited 'The Pioneer' in Allahabad.
THE LONG JOURNEY
The journey which started from Mumbai had to pass many
places en route to London. The voyage passing through Aden, Port Said through
the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal. The weather changes from the tropical
zone to the temperate zone was foreign to most players. Then came the Bay of
Biscay, rounding the Cape of Gibraltar - known for this rough seas affected
these players with sea sickness. Dhyan Chand kept a serious watch on his
colleagues throughout the journey. On March 30th, 1928 the ship dropped anchor
at Tilbury Docks, London.
It was beginning of the spring season in London, so it was
still wet and cold - a different kind of weather something which Indian players
were unaccustomed to. Barring few representatives from Britain's hockey
fraternity there were hardly many members from the press. After all, this was
the hockey team from India, how relevant were they?
PRACTICE GAMES IN ENGLAND
Indian team played 11 matches in England. The first match
was played on a soggy ground as a result of heavy rains and Indian players had
no footwear to cope with the English conditions. They lost their first game against
Combined Services team 1-2. The next ten matches featured teams which at the
best were second best. The British hockey authorities repeatedly refused to
field in their international team and by the way Indians started scoring and
winning - the refusal to field an international team became firmer.
At the
Folkestone Festival, Indian team played Hockey Association XI (included 9
international players) which they won 4-0 comfortably. In fact, after the
Folkestone defeat, many rumours persisted that England was scared of losing to
India and hence withdrew from the Olympic event.
And the legend goes, as long as India remained a colony of
Britain, they never participated in the Olympic hockey event or played any
international hockey match.
Dhyan Chand never had an opportunity to play against
the colonial masters, who were responsible to create the culture of hockey in
India!
So after losing the first match, the rest of the ten matches
yielded in nine victories and one draw. The Indian team and in particular
Dhyan Chand was at the receiving end of some praise and kind words from the
English press and some even went on to call him the 'Hockey Wizard' and 'human
eel'.
Jaipal Singh, S M Yusuf and Nawab of Pataudi. Sr played few games with
the Indian team with the former two joining the squad for the Olympics.
PRE-OLYMPIC PRACTICE
Bye bye London and hello Amsterdam. The hockey team landed
the shores of Holland on 24th April 1928. The first match was scheduled for
17th May and in between they managed to play four practice games in
Netherlands, two in Germany and one in Belgium. The party travelled from
Amsterdam to Arnheim and then to Hague winning each of the matches by a margin
in excess of seven goals.
Then they travelled to Hannover in Germany and won the game 10-0
and defeated Berlin XI in Berlin 5-1. And while on their way back to Amsterdam,
they stopped at Brussels, played a game against a Brussels team and won by a
score of 10-2. These games not only provided the team much required match
practice - but also provided enough time for all the players to get used to the
continental conditions.
The grass on the turf was also not properly trimmed
which provided with few set of challenges as the ball slowed to the flick and
push play of the Indians as compared to the hit and run technique of their
opponents.
OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS
Finally, the day had arrived when the entire Indian team
could go and realise their dreams of winning the Olympic gold. The first step
was to win the round games and then the semi-finals and in the end, the finals.
Who would have give these Indians as favourites except for
the teams who watched them play? The first game was against Austria. India
winning 6-0 with Dhyan Chand scoring 4 goals. Next up was Belgium, the very next
day and quite comfortably Indian won that game 9-0. In the next match against
Denmark, the goals continued to flourish from the sticks of the Indian forwards
as they won 5-0 and a place in the semi-finals. Switzerland was swept away 6-0
by India and thereby stormed their way into the finals.
The crowd gathered in huge numbers as the hosts were the
other finalist. Indians had few players missing, the likes of Feroze Khan,
Shaukat Ali and Kher Singh who were sick and Jaipal Singh was removed as the
captain for the finals owing to political and with hints of racism. Eric
Pinniger, the vice-captain filled the mantle to lead the side. Yes, the team manager was bullied by ex-
Indian Army men in England from the beginning of the tour and they might have
had a big role in this sudden ouster of Jaipal Singh.
Dhyan Chand was running with high temperature which persisted
throughout the game. But he was an army man, brought up in tougher conditions.
He was a soldier and he was playing for his country and the manager had just
one simple message - Do or Die.
Indian team victorious by three goals to nil against the
hosts thereby winning their first Olympic gold medal. Richard Allen, the goal
keeper did not concede a single goal in the entire five matches which saw the
Indian team rake up 29 goals out of which Dhyan Chand contributed 14 goals
including the hatrick in the finals.
Two days later on 28th May, the team was felicitated with
the Olympic gold medals. It was a pity the hockey games were held in May - a
good two months prior to the Olympic opening ceremony and other events. Notably,
the Olympic atmosphere was missing and India's win provided just the right
start for the 1928 edition.
GRAND WELCOME
If there were three who waved goodbyes in March, there were
sea of heads welcoming their heroes on their return. A triumphant homecoming
for the deserving champions given by the Mumbai hockey fraternity which
dispelled all the apprehensions team had.
Mayor of Mumbai Dr. G.V Deshmukh and along with
representatives of Indian political circles were among the cream guests which
received the team. This grand reception was ended by a hockey match against Western
Hockey Association XI (which had won just before the departure). This time the
scenario was different, the Olympic team was oozing with confidence. They were
not just the Indian Olympic team, they were the current Olympic champions. The
Indian team won 6-1 and aptly avenged their defeat of March 4th match which was
held before they left for Amsterdam.
END NOTE
The win was possible with the help of many people at many
junctures in the past few years leading to and during the tournament. One name
was highlighted repeatedly for being the glue for binding the rest of the team
in winning those games quite comfortably.
Dhyan Chand would continue his remarkable
journey with Indian hockey as he was instrumental once again for India's gold
at the next edition in Los Angeles - which is covered in my next article.
