The Hockey Wizard

The army camp was quiet. The day's drills were over, the lamps in the barracks were going out, and most of the soldiers were asleep. But out on the open ground, under a bright full moon, one young sepoy was still at work: a hockey stick in his hands, a ball at his feet, tapping, turning, dribbling, again and again.

There were no floodlights in those days. If he wanted more time with the ball, the moon would have to do.

His name was Dhyan Singh. The world would remember him as Dhyan Chand.

A soldier's son

Dhyan was born on 29 August 1905, in Allahabad, in northern India. His father, Sameshwar Singh, was a soldier in the British Indian Army, and the family moved from one posting to another. There was little money to spare, and Dhyan's schooling was often interrupted. He left school early.

As a boy, he was more interested in wrestling than hockey. He sometimes played hockey with friends, using whatever sticks they could find, but nobody would have picked him out as a future champion.

At the age of sixteen, like his father before him, he joined the army as an ordinary soldier.

The moon and the stick

In the army, Dhyan began to play hockey properly in regimental matches. An older soldier, Subedar-Major Bale Tiwari, saw his promise and encouraged him to take the game seriously.

Dhyan's days belonged to the army: drill, duties and orders. So he practised when his duties were done, often late into the evening. The story goes that because he practised so often by moonlight, his friends began calling him "Chand", the Hindi word for the moon. Whether or not that is exactly how it happened, the name stuck, and Dhyan Singh became Dhyan Chand.

All those quiet hours paid off. His control of the ball became almost unbelievable. Defenders said the ball seemed to stay glued to his stick. He could see where his teammates would be before they got there, and slip the ball to them with a flick of the wrist.

Amsterdam, 1928

In 1928, India sent its first hockey team to the Olympic Games, in Amsterdam. Very few people in Europe expected much from them.

India did not concede a single goal on the way to the final. In the final, they beat the home team, the Netherlands, to win the gold medal. Dhyan Chand was the top scorer of the tournament. Reporters began calling him a wizard and a magician.

It was India's first Olympic gold medal in any sport. The country was still under British rule, but for many Indians, the victory felt like a small, proud sign of what their own nation could do.

Los Angeles and Berlin

At the next Olympics, in Los Angeles in 1932, India won again. Dhyan Chand played alongside his younger brother, Roop Singh, and between them they scored a great many of India's goals.

In 1936 the Games were held in Berlin. This time, Dhyan Chand was captain.

Just before the tournament, India lost a practice match to Germany. It was a shock, and the team worked hard to put it right. When the real tournament began, India played beautifully. In the final, on 15 August 1936, they met Germany again, in front of a huge crowd. India won 8–1.

Three Olympic Games. Three gold medals.

Over the years, many tales have grown up around Dhyan Chand: that officials once broke his stick to check for a magnet inside, or that Adolf Hitler offered him a high rank in the German army. These stories are popular, but there is no firm evidence for them, and it is wise to enjoy them as legends. The true story is remarkable enough.

A quiet life, a lasting light

Dhyan Chand stayed in the army for many years, rising through the ranks to become a Major. He played on until the late 1940s, and then helped to coach young players. In 1956, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours.

In person, he was known as modest and gentle. He rarely talked about himself. In his short memoir, Goal!, he writes far more about the game and about his teammates than about his own skill.

He died in 1979. Today his birthday, 29 August, is celebrated every year as India's National Sports Day. In 2021, the country's highest sporting honour was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in his memory.

When young players in India pick up a hockey stick and stay out late, practising in the fading light, they are following in the footsteps of a soldier who once played under the moon.

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Dhyan Chand's own short memoir, Goal!, was first published in 1952. His Olympic record is listed on Olympics.com, the official site of the International Olympic Committee.