The magic of Dhyan Chand and Indian Hockey was best observed in Berlin Olympics 1936 Games. Undoubtedly at the peak of his prowess, he was handed the Indian team’s captaincy and this time, there was no dissent, though the omission of Richard Carr raised a few eyebrows, but he was not released by the Indian Railways.
The run-up to the Games was not exactly satisfactory. A 1-4 defeat to Germany in a practice game rang alarm bells in the Indian camp. Following a team meeting, it was decided to bring in Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara who was to represent Pakistan in the 1948 Olympics following the partition.
India won all their three league matches and hammered France 10-0 in the semi-finals and Germany 8-1 in the gold medal round, but not without some drama. Dhyan Chand lost a tooth in a collision with the particularly aggressive Germany goalkeeper Tito Warnholtz who had a nightmarish game.
After India played its first match in the 1936 Olympics, Dhyan Chand’s magical stickwork drew crowds from other venues to the hockey field. A German newspaper carried a banner headline: ‘The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.’ The next day, there were posters all over Berlin: ‘Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.
‘After every India match, hundreds of spectators would troop down to the players enclosure and touch Dhyan Chand’s hockey stick to see what trick it was that kept the ball from leaving his stick as he dribbled his way all over the field.
One journalist reported: ‘It looks like he has some invisible magnet stuck to his hockey stick so that the ball does not leave it at all.
Returning to the field after medical attention, Dhyan Chand reportedly told the players to ‘teach a lesson’ to the Germans by not scoring. The Indians repeatedly took the ball to the German circle only to backpedal.
In the Finals At the Berlin Olympics in 1936, Dhyan Chand could not play for finals against Germany, as he was hurt.
At half point, when India led by only 1-0 Dhyan Chand removed his shoes and entered the field bare foot.
He took India to a stunning victory scoring 6 more goals. Adolf Hitler left midway as he couldn’t bear to see his “racially superior” team being demolished.
Later the German dictator offered to elevate ‘Lance Naik’ Dhyan to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused.
Dhyan Chand established himself as the greatest hockey player of the time and ended the Berlin Olympics on a high with a tally of 11 goals, the same as his brother Roop Singh.
Team manager Swami Jagan Nath said of Dhyan Chand in his tournament report: ‘Dhyan Chand who once more proved himself as the best centre-forward in the World, demonstrated his worth as a great captain. Held in great esteem, affection and admiration by the players, he was the central luminary around whom the members of the team revolved.’
Such was the fan following for Dhyan Chand that after the Partition in 1947, he was included in the Indian team on a goodwill tour of Kenya who insisted on the wizard’s inclusion. India won all the 28 matches with Dhyan Chand scoring 61 goals, second only to Kunwar Digvijay Singh ‘Babu’, the new star on the horizon, who topped with a strike of 70.
Thus, Dhyan Chand finished his international career with three Olympic gold medals, but more importantly drew World-wide attention not only on himself but Indian hockey.
Indian team: Dhyan Chand (captain), Iqtidar Ali Shah Dara, Richard James Allen, Md Hussain, Ahmed Sher Khan, Carlyle Carrol Tapsell, Baboo Narsoo Nimal, Ernest John Goodsir-Cullen, Syed Md Jaffar, Ashan Md Khan, Joseph Gallibardy, Roop Singh, Gurcharan Singh Grewal, Lionel C Emmet, Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Masud, Paul Peter Fernandes, Joseph Phillip, Shabban Shaahab-ud-Din.
Results:
League – India beat Hungary 4-0 (Roop Singh 2; Carlyle Tapsell; Shabab Ud Din Shabban 1).
India beat USA 7-0 (Sayed Mohommed Jaffar 2; Dhyan Chand 2; Roop Singh 2; Ernest Goodsir-Cullen 1).
India beat Japan 9-0 (Dhyan Chand 4; Peter Fernandes 2; Carlyle Tapsell 2; Roop Singh 1).
Semi-final: India beat France 10-0 (Dhyan Chand 4; Roop Singh 3; Iqtidar Ali Dara 2; Carlyle Tapsell 1).
Final: India beat Germany 8-1 (Dhyan Chand 3; Iqtidar Ali Dara 2; Roop Singh 1; Carlyle Tapsell 1; Sayed Mohomed Jaffar 1).
Positions: India 1; Germany 2; The Netherlands 3; France 4; Switzerland 5; Afghanistan 6; Japan; 7; Hungary 8; Belgium 9; Denmark 10; USA 11.