Dhyan Chand’s bond with Sansarpur: A Village of hockey Olympians

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Hockey legend Dhyan Chand had a special attachment to Sansarpur, a village famous for producing hockey Olympians. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would visit the village and meet the veteran hockey players who had played with him during his army days.

As a national selector, Dhyan Chand continued to tour Punjab even after his tenure at NIS Patiala.

“Dhyan Chand was in Jalandhar for the hockey nationals in 1972, and I was overwhelmed when the legend accepted my invitation for dinner at my village home in Sansarpur. At his request, I also invited some of the veteran hockey players from Sansarpur who had played with him during army tournaments in the 1930s. Five, including my father, from our village were part of the 5/13 Frontier Force Regiment that had four encounters with Dhyan Chand’s 14th Punjab Regiment, with both teams winning two matches each,” recalled Col. Balbir Singh. “Dhyan Chand was such a noble soul that during the discussion, he specifically mentioned the match in which the 5/13 Frontier Force Regiment defeated his team in the finals. He praised their game and mentioned Mohan Singh, who was sitting there, saying that had the 1940 and 1944 Olympics not been canceled due to World War II, Mohan would have played in both. But if there had been no World War II, Dhyan Chand would have had five Olympic gold medals to his name.”

In his international career from 1926 to 1948, Dhyan Chand scored over 500 goals, including 49 in the Olympics. He passed away on December 3, 1979, and since 1995, the Government of India has celebrated National Sports Day on his birthday, August 29.

The BBC called him the ‘Pele of his age,’ hockey’s equivalent of Muhammad Ali—quite simply, the best in the business.

“Dhyan Chand reigns supreme as the undisputed king of hockey and will do so as long as the game endures. He was the role model for many great Olympians all over the world,” said Col. Balbir Singh.

Also read in BBC Punjabi

https://www.bbc.com/punjabi/articles/c80e11m0km3o