Bhubaneswar: The first ever digital initiative to demand Bharat Ratna Award for the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand(https://www.facebook.com/bharatratnafordhyanchand/)was initiated by young entrepreneur Joyeeta Roy and Prateek Kumar Mishra of Signature 24 Productions last year on the Legends birthday.
The campaign was supported by Former Indian Cricket Team Captain and BCCI President Shri Sourav Ganguly, Superstar Actor from Odisha Shri Babushaan Mohanty and Bollywood Actress Smt Rachel White. The campaign gained wide popularity digitally with eminent personalities and common people of India Joining in to support and celebrate the life of Major Dhyan Chand.
With the approach of Major Dhyan Chand’s 115th birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as the National Sports Day in India, Joyeeta Roy and Prateek Kumar Mishra from Odisha lead clarion call for honoring Major Dhyan Chand. The event was LIVE on Facebook which saw Odisha Superstar Actor Babushaan Mohanty Hosting the Hockey Legends Gurbux Singh, Harbinder Singh, Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, Young Star Yuvraj Walmiki.
The panel discussion of 90 minutes covered the entire era of Indian Hockey from 1928-2020. The conversation was not only related to Major Dhyan Chand but also it involved the experiences of each of these players with the Legend and also about their journey as players.
Senior player and Arjuna Awardee Gurbux Singh aged 85years now became emotional while sharing past experience from 1964 Tokyo Olympics when he was part of the Indian Hockey Team which won gold for the country. “After winning the Gold for India, I had tears in my eyes while seeing the Tri Colour 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”, said Gurbux Singh.
Arjuna Awardee and son of Major Dhyan Chand, Ashok Kumar shared storied about his father from the past. He shared unknown facts from the final match of Berlin Olympics, 1936 where India won gold. “It was raining heavily for which the final match got postponed to 15th August, 1936. During the first half, India had scored only 1 goal, which was quite easy for opponent to defeat! Before the second half of the match started, Major Dhyan Chand and Legendary Player Roop Singh removed their shoes and played barefoot for 35mins to get the control of the ground! And in the second half both these players scored 7 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 while sharing past stories. He further added that Major Dhyan Chand had kept the flag of the country in front of the team members a day before the match motivating them to play for the country and win for the country.
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 ever had who rightly deserves Bharat Ratna.
“Dada was simple”, Arjuna Awardee and Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement in Sports Winner, Harbinder Singh quotted who even shared his experiences with Major Dhyan Chand under whom he was coached during his days.
Young Star Yuvraj Walmiki did not have much experience to share with Major Dhyan Chand. However he quoted that he idolizes Major Dhyan Chand and felt proud while playing German League when people referred to him as the man from “Dhyan Chand’s Country.”
He even added that sports should be made compulsory by education department.
The 90 min digital event ended with a note from the senior players.
“Now India were in a good form. They were beating top teams regularly. 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.
LINK OF THE EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=592466554771855&extid=IdT2LiKaxsXpx88P
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