Wizard of Hockey

Major Dhyan Chand has not been considered for the first Bharat Ratna for excellence in sports.He did not deserved it,of course.The criterion for awarding the Ratna was too narrow to accommodate a sports-person in its preview.No complains.Period.And,Dhyan Chand was a true Ratna (jewel),not just for the nation but for the whole hockey and sports world as well.What he alone did for Indian hockey was magical.His records and number stand even six or seven decades later.Apart,he was the sole brand ambassador of hockey.Football had Pele and Maradona,cricket had Bradman and Sachin,but for hockey he was the only man to be remembered forever.To come more pointedly on Indian context,he was the architect of eight gold medals (the highest ever for any nation) in olympics ,three coming even before its independence.

Dhyan Chand did not belong to an era of commercialization.He played for the spirit of sports and not for money,as in those days sports had no money.The all powerful Hitler,after watching the 1936 olympic final on 15th August(if you want a heavenly sign,its it),offered Dhyan Chand the post of colonel in his army.No one in those eras,even powerful heads of nation,let alone sports-person,had guts to say no to Hitler.But,Dhyan Chand,who was a mere soldier,refused with a smile.He choose to remain a soldier but win laurels for his own nation.And,Hitler accorded him with immense respect,by not saying a word further.Don Bradman,who was no way related to hockey,was quoted as saying "he scores goals like run in cricket".Had it not for the second world war,two more gold medals were waiting to brighten his feathers.

He finally retired as a major in The Indian Army,never to become a colonel.Actually,we are a law-abiding nation.A man is promoted based entirely on his merit in his job.So what if the world worships him.And yes,while Dhyan Chand used to play,no media was there to cry hoax that world worships him.So,nation and politicians have no real idea of his merit.Youngsters,whose blood burns in an India-Pakistan match,most of them are not even sure about the olympic games in which Dhyan Chand made an appearance.After its discussed in the media,48 hours coverage is done on his life and news-channel debate his skills,may be Indian government will realize his worth.

When the horizon for Bharat Ratna had been widened to include sports-person,Dhyan Chand should have been the first choice.That he is no more in glamour,so can be excluded,is a bizarre way to judgement.Its not about Sachin being awarded the honour first,its about leaving him.He was senior,no money came for him selling tooth-pastes and biscuits,milk were not poured for his success,he did not hogged lime-light in those slow moving undeveloped nation.He,by all means deserved this honour,which poor nation could not afford for him during peak of his career,may be together,may be before.But not after.Already,this award has been given to people below standard.Sachin is sure to enhance the prestige of this award.But,Dhyan Chand,was and will remain forever above the clutches and glory of this award.The man who challenged Hitler's Aryan superiority theory,does not needs the blessings of rubber-stamp politicians to maintain his superiority above any other sports-person.