Image Source : PTI Dhyan Chand
Hockey wizard and triple Olympic gold medallist Dhyan Chand ought to positively be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, as he was the primary participant to get recognition for Indian hockey globally, says 1964 Olympic gold medallist Harbinder Singh Chimni.
“Dhyan Chand should definitely get the Bharat Ratna posthumously. He was the first Indian sportsperson to make a special place for himself in international hockey,” Chimni, a former India captain, informed IANS.
“He won three Olympic gold medals. I don’t think there is a more deserving sportsperson than him for the Bharat Ratna,” emphasised the 77-year-old former centre ahead who was as soon as coached by legendary hockey ahead.
Dhyan Chand was a part of three Olympic gold medal-winning Indian groups — Amsterdam (1928), Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin, the place he was additionally the captain.
For 20 years, till he bid goodbye to worldwide hockey in 1948, Dhyan Chand’s identify was synonymous with the game, each in India and globally, as he scored a whole lot of targets throughout continents.
In 2014, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned the primary sportsperson to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna after the federal government modified its guidelines that allowed athletes to develop into eligible for the nation’s highest civilian honour. And until date, Tendulkar stays the one athlete to be bestowed the Bharat Ratna.
Chimni, who was additionally a part of the Indian group that received bronze medals on the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, identified among the quite a few efforts made over time to impress upon successive central governments to honour Dhyan Chand with Bharat Ratna.
“We have been requesting the governments for quite some time now, but I don’t know why the governments are not paying heed to our requests. I remember after Tendulkar was conferred with the honour, we, alongside Zafar Iqbal and many other former hockey players, had taken out a procession from the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Barakhamba Road crossing in Delhi to Jantar Mantar, where we also sat down for quite some time just to remind the government,” recalled Chimni.
Asked in regards to the chance of Dhyan Chand being conferred upon Bharat Ratna, Chimni mentioned: “I don’t know. It all depends on the government, their criteria, and their thought process.”
Chimni recalled his interplay with Dhyan Chand many many years in the past when he was a participant.
“Dhyan Chand and my father Balbir Singh also together played for an Army XI in 1948. He was my coach in 1963 when we played an international tournament. Unfortunately, I could not see Dhyan Chand play but during his tenure as coach, he guided us well,” recalled Chimni, who was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1967.
“I had a best timing of 10.8 seconds in 100m, so I had the advantage of speed. He told me that as I have the advantage of speed, I should keep the ball in front of me as it will help in pick up and also control the ball. It was the ‘guru mantra’ that stayed with me and helped me score many goals in my career,” he mentioned.
Talking about Dhyan Chand’s persona, Chimni mentioned legend was like a father determine to him.
“He was a very down to earth person and a simple man. He was very humble and used to live a simple life. Whenever a person would talk to him, one would never get the impression that he/she was talking to a legendary player. To me, he was a father figure who always inspired me,” careworn an indebted Chimni.
The Delhi-based Chimni additionally appeared in three Olympic Games. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, he was a member of the group that wrested the gold again it had misplaced to Pakistan 4 years earlier in Rome. In 1968 in Mexico and in 1972 in Munich, India received bronze medals.
Chimni was additionally a member of the Indian group that received gold on the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok and was captain of the group that clinched silver 4 years later on the similar venue. He later turned chief coach of the Indian girls’s group and likewise served as a junior nationwide choice committee.