August 29 - National Sports Day in India

nPosted on August 29, 2020

Key Points

Dhyan Chand is really, really, really famous – at least in the world of field hockey! This man, who was born in India (then British India) on this day in 1905, is considered the greatest player EVER in field hockey.

nI found it interesting that he achieved such greatness even though Chand didn’t care for hockey as a child. I gather that he played in some casual games with friends, but it wasn’t until he was grown and in the Army that he really played.

nAnd he really played well, then!

nDhyan Chand was born Dhyan Singh, but he practiced hockey on his off hours, which meant he was practicing at night. But there were no lights on the Army field (or he wasn’t authorized to use them, maybe?), so he had to wait for the moon to come out so he could see the ball! Because he always practiced when the moon came up, he was nicknamed “Moon” – or “Chand” in Hindi!

nAfter a while that nickname became the name by which he was known. And his brilliant play in international settings earned Chand more nicknames: the Wizard and the Magician.

nChand helped India win three gold medals in the Olympics – in 1928, 1932, and 1936. At least partly because of him, India dominated men’s field hockey during his career.

nActually, India dominated for longer than Chand’s hockey career – India won EVERY SINGLE Olympic gold for men’s field hockey from 1928 to 1956!!

nAnd Chand’s birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day! Wow – that’s pretty amazing.

Field hockey – also known simply as hockey – is similar to ice hockey, but of course is not played on ice. Instead it is played on grass, on artificial turf, or on a synthetic field. Sometimes it is even played indoors on a “field” made of wooden boards. There are hockey sticks, but instead of a flat puck that mostly slides on the ice, there is a round, hard ball made out of plastic.

nThe first time men’s field hockey was held in the Olympics, in 1908, Great Britain won a clean sweep: gold, silver, and bronze.

You might wonder how one nation could win all the medals in a team sport, but Britain sent separate teams from all four of its nations-within-the-nation: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. The four teams came in the top four spots, with the following medals: England gold; Ireland silver; Wales and Scotland bronze.

nThe first time women’s field hockey was an Olympic sport, in 1980, Zimbabwe won the gold.

nField hockey is still an Olympic sport, although I don’t think I have ever seen it covered (not super popular here in the U.S.). During the Rio games (the most recent, since the 2020 Tokyo games were postponed due to COVID-19), Argentina won the men’s gold, and Great Britain won the women’s gold.