Indian hockey’s golden August and the wizard who defined it

Indian hockey’s rendezvous with August has been extraordinary. The month is remembered not only for medals and record victories but also for the birth of Dhyan Chand, widely regarded as the greatest hockey player of all time. The prolific centre-forward was born on August 29, 1905, in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His birth anniversary is celebrated nationwide as National Sports Day.

Five of India’s 13 Olympic hockey medals were clinched in August. These include three gold— at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, 1936 Berlin, and 1948 London — and two bronze, at the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games.

Historic victories

India’s most emphatic Olympic wins also came in August. On August 11, 1932, at the Los Angeles Games, the Lal Shah Bokhari-led team thrashed the USA 24-1 — a record margin that still stands in men’s field hockey at the Olympics.

Just days earlier, on August 4, India had routed Japan 11-1 in the same three-team tournament. The Games, held during the Great Depression and in relatively isolated California, saw participation from only 37 countries.

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August-born stalwarts

August also gave Indian hockey many of its greats. Among them were captains Udham Singh (born August 4, 1928), Baldev Singh (August 23, 1951), Joaquim Carvalho (August 16, 1959), AB Subbaiah (August 8, 1970), Ramandeep Singh (August 19, 1971), Anil Aldrin (August 22, 1971), and Baljeet Singh Saini (August 12, 1976).

Goals galore in Jakarta

Beyond the Olympics, India scripted another record on August 22, 2018, when they demolished Hong Kong 26-0 at the Jakarta Asian Games, breaking their own 86-year-old record from Los Angeles.

Led by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, 14 players got on the scoresheet, with hat-tricks from Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (4 goals), Rupinder Pal Singh (4), Harmanpreet Singh (4), and Akashdeep Singh (3). Others who scored included Manpreet Singh Pawar (2 goals), Varun Kumar (2), and a goal each by SV Sunil, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dilpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, and Simranjeet Singh.

Two days earlier, India had crushed Indonesia 17-0 in their Pool A opener on August 20. Hat-tricks came from Dilpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, and Mandeep Singh. Despite these staggering wins, India had to settle for bronze.

The Indian women’s team fared better, winning silver after a 1-2 loss to Japan in the final on August 31.

The wizard and his legacy

Dhyan Chand, who rose to the rank of Major in the British Indian Army, remains the eternal torch-bearer of Indian hockey. He was a prolific scorer, famed for his artistry with the stick.

In the 24-1 victory over the USA in 1932, he scored eight goals, his younger brother Roop Singh struck 10, Gurmit Singh Kullar netted five, and Broome Eric Pinniger added one. The USA’s Bill Boddington scored their solitary goal as India led 9-1 at halftime. Roop Singh finished the tournament with 13 goals, followed by Dhyan Chand with 12.

Ashok Kumar, son of Dhyan Chand and a former India Captain, told Patriot that his father “revived hockey after it seemed on its last legs following the cancellation of the 1916 Olympics due to World War I”. He added that in that era, “no other hockey player would have been described with so many adjectives”.

Ashok Kumar recalled that legends such as Balbir Singh Senior were directly inspired by Dhyan Chand. Singh, originally a goalkeeper, switched to centre-forward after watching him play and went on to win three Olympic golds.

A humble life

Despite his unmatched feats, Dhyan Chand lived simply. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956 but was largely overlooked thereafter.

Ashok Kumar recalled that when their family shifted to Jhansi after 1956, “our home didn’t have electricity. We had just a gas lantern and studied by kerosene lamp for five years. Contrast this with what Jawaharlal Nehru once told Dhyan Chand — ‘you have won so many medals, can you give one to me?’”

He also shared how his father’s humility was unyielding. After India’s 1975 World Cup triumph, Kumar tried to secure a gas agency for his father by filing an application that listed his hockey achievements. Dhyan Chand declined to sign, saying it was the government’s duty to recognise his achievements, not his own.

“He was basically very shy and never sought limelight. That is probably a reason Dhyan Chand has been conferred only the Padma Bhushan. Why?” asked Ashok Kumar.

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Call for recognition

For years, the hockey fraternity has demanded that Dhyan Chand be posthumously honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. But despite repeated appeals, the recognition has not come. Instead, in 2014, the award was conferred on cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.