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Bhubaneswar: A webinar was organized on Saturday as part of a digital campaign to demand Bharat Ratna for hockey legend Dhyan Chand. Hockey legends Gurbux Singh, Harbinder Singh, Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, young star Yuvraj Walmiki attend the event which was streamed live on Facebook. The entire session was hosted by Ollywood actor Babushan Mohanty.
The event was held ahead of Major Dhyan Chand’s 115th birth anniversary (August 29), which is also celebrated as the National Sports Day in India. During the course of discussion, the common point that came up from every player is that Major Dhyan Chand is one of the best player the country has ever produced and rightly deserves Bharat Ratna.
Sharing his past experience from 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when he was part of the Indian Hockey Team which won gold for the country, senior player and Arjuna Awardee Gurbux Singh (85) said, “After winning the Gold for India, I had tears in my eyes while seeing the Tricolour go up slowly amidst the stadium with the national anthem being played in the background. It really made me feel proud of doing something for India.”
Arjuna Awardee and son of Major Dhyan Chand, Ashok Kumar shared some unknown facts from the final match of Berlin Olympics 1936 that India won.
“It was raining heavily for which the final match got postponed to August 15, 1936. In the first half, India had scored only one goal, which was quite easy for the opponent to defeat. Before the second half of the match, Major Dhyan Chand and Legendary Player Roop Singh removed their shoes and played barefoot for 35 minutes to get the control of the ground both of them scored seven goals. By the time the match ended in Berlin, the stadium was empty as India defeated Germany with a score of 8-1 in front of Hitler,” said Ashok Kumar.
“Had the Olympic not been postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, India would certainly be medal contenders. Now however, the momentum has gone. Am doubtful about how India will fare next year,” said Harbinder Singh, to which Gurbux Singh responded that currently India should focus on Semi Finals first in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and then aspire for medals for the country.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)
Also Read: Major Dhyan Chand example of sportsman spirit, patriotism: Modi
