New Delhi: The nation celebrates 29th August as National Sports Day to mark the birth anniversary of Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. The legendary hockey player and arguably India's first major international sporting hero was the poster boy of the all conquering Indian hockey team that clinched gold medals in three successive Olympic Games from 1928 to 1936. Chand, who is widely considered to be the greatest hockey player of all time, scored a staggering 400+ goals in his glittering career spanning over two decades.

The special day is observed every year to promote awareness regarding the importance of sports and physical activity in human life. The President of the nation confers the the National Sports Awards, National Adventure Awards, Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to celebrate the achievements of Indian athletes. Dhyan Chand Award is the highest award for Lifetime Achievement in sports in India.
Here are some important facts about the legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand

1) Dhyan Singh joined the Indian Army as a sepoy at the mere age of 16 and started playing hockey while he was still enrolled. As Dhyan Singh used to practise hockey prior to dusk under the moonlight, his friends started calling him ‘Chand’ as his practice sessions used to coincide with moonrise.

2) It was between 1922 and 1926 that Chand played army hockey tournaments and regimental matches. Due to his outrageous skills on the field and his natural ability to find the back of the net, Dhyan Chand was selected for the Indian Army team for the tour to New Zealand. The team won 18 matches while drawing two and losing just one. On his return to India, Chand was promoted to the position of Lance Naik.

3) Dhyan Chand Award, which is the highest award for Lifetime Achievement in the category of sports in India is constituted and named after hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. The award is handed out on a yearly basis to the athletes that have not only contributed to a specific sport but also worked for the betterment of sports after retiring. The award is conferred on National Sports Day.
4) Dhyan Chand top scored for India with 14 goals in just 5 matches and led the national team to their first ever Olympic Gold in 1928.

5) In the Los Angels Olympics 1932, Chand displayed great skills with his hockey stick and ended up as the leading goal scorer of the tournament. In the match against the USA, India won 24-1 – a world record (until it was broken in 2003), with Chand scoring 8 goals and his brother Roop Singh scoring 10. In the entire tournament, Chand and his brother Roop scored 25 out of the 35 goals scored by India. The team once again won a gold – its second on the trot at the Olympics.

6) In 1948, Chand decided to call it a day from ‘serious hockey’. Chand’s final match of his career was for Rest of India team against Bengal. The match ended up with a goal. He retired from the Army in 1956 at the age of 51, with the rank of Major.

7) Chand has an autobiography named ‘Goal!’ which was published in 1952.

7) The Government of India honoured Dhyan Chand with the Padma Bhushan – India’s third highest civilian honour.

8) Dhyan Chand spent the last days of his life in his hometown Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Short of money, Chand was ignored by many during his last days. During a tournament in Ahmedabad, he was turned away by the authorities not knowing who he was.

9) Chand was diagnosed with liver cancer and was admitted to a general ward at the AIIMS in New Delhi. The legendary forward died on December 3, 1979, at the AIIMS and his family cremated him at the Jhansi Heroes ground in his hometown. The Punjab Regiment honoured him with full military honours.

10) The Government of India renamed The National Stadium in Delhi to Dhyan Chand National Stadium in 2002. The Aligarh Muslim University has named a hostel after him. The British Government has named an Astroturf hockey pitch in London after Chand.