1936 Olympics-Berlin

"Early next morning we boarded a train for Paris. We travelled third class. There was a restaurant car in the train, but our funds did not permit us to indulge in anything more than a meagre breakfast.

Nowadays I hear of the princely comforts provided for national teams travelling overseas, and the fuss players raise if they happen to miss even a cup of tea! When we used to travel, the name of our country and the game were the only two things that mattered."

Initially, Dhyan Chand's regiment refused to give him the permission to go to the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin, as it was engaged in a fight with the tribals in Waziristan. However, after a second request, the permission was granted.

Dhyan Chand captained the Indian team in 1936 Summer Olympics final. His team had gone down to the Germans in a friendly match, shortly before the Olympics. But this time, India's forward line was reinforced by the inclusion of Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, who managed to reach Berlin just in time for the final.

In a patriotic note, they raised the Indian tricolour in the dressing room and sang Vande Mataram an Indian nationalist song, rather than the British national anthem, which they were obliged to sing.

Indians were leading 1-0 at the half time. In second half, they scored 7 goals. After trailing 0-6, the Germans are reported to have resorted to body play. In a clash with the German goalkeeper, Dhyan Chand broke one of his teeth, but was soon back in action. India won the match 8-1, with Dhyan Chand scoring 6 goals.Impressed by his performance, Adolf Hitler supposedly offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field Marshal in the German army, but the latter refused. Chand scored 59 out of India's 175 goals in the pre-Olympic matches and 11 out of 38 in the Olympics.

The path to success:- August 5th.India Vs Hungary-4-1.
August 7th. India Vs USA-7-1.
August 10th. India Vs Japan-9-0.
August 12th. India Vs France-10-0.
August 15th. India Vs Germany-8-1.

The goals scored in Olympics were as follows:-