Olympic Stories: What Happened When An Impressed Adolf Hitler Offered Dhyan Chand A Place In German Military?

Tokyo 2020: "India is not for Sale!" - This was Major Dhyan Chand's reply to the German dictator when he had offered the hockey legend a place in the German military.

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Tokyo 2020: As the Tokyo Olympic Games are about to start, we bring to you some lesser-known stories from the world of the Olympics. Today, we discuss a story from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a story about India's best hockey player, Major Dhyan Chand and his encounter with the biggest dictator of our times - Adolf Hitler. 

1936 was a year of heightened political developments, the world was going through a massive economic depression, but Germany with all its technological and military might was surviving this financial onslaught. Adolf Hitler wanted to present Germany as the most powerful nation and to outdo the previous 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, he did not keep any stone unturned. The Games were a spectacle and grand! 

India's hockey team was a no-match for any team in the world. Team India won the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics but notably, 38 goals were scored by the Indians and only one was scored against them. India faced Nazi Germany in the final of the games where they defeated the Germans by 8-1 and secured the gold medal. The match was played on 15 August 1936 - a date that would become significant later in India's history. 

The wizard of hockey, Major Dhyan Chand had scored six goals out of the eight for India. Adolf Hitler was in attendance at the finals and he was utterly impressed by Dhyan Chand's display of play. So much so, that he offered Dhyan Chand a place in the German military. Major Dhyan Chand, with all his pride, told the dictator that, 'India is not for sale'. This incident was narrated by former Indian hockey coach, Saiyed Ali Sibtain Naqvi.

"It was during the prize distribution ceremony and Dada was silent for a few seconds, even the packed stadium went completely silent and feared that if Dhyanchand refused the offer then the dictator might shoot him. Dada had narrated this to me that he replied to Hitler with closed eyes but in a bold voice of an Indian soldier that 'India is not for sale',"  Saiyed Ali Sibtain Naqvi told IANS.

It is said that the title 'Wizard of Hockey' was conformed upon Dhayan Chand by Adolf Hitler.

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