The War Years
Towards the end of the war, Dhyan Chand led an Army hockey team to Manipur, Burma, the Far East and Ceylon. In 1943, Dhyan Chand was honoured with the King's Commission and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
Biography of Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand
By Niket Bhushan, Wiley Eastern Ltd., 1992
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The War Years | When World War II broke out, the
British officers did not allow Dhyan Chand to accompany his regiment when it
went to the front to fight the Japanese. This showed the high regard the
British had for Dhyan Chand.
Towards the end of the war, Dhyan Chand led an Army hockey team to Manipur, Burma, the Far East and Ceylon. In 1943, Dhyan Chand was honoured with the King's Commission and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. |
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hyan
Chand planned to retire after the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but the worldwide
accolade that he received made him reluctantly change his mind. Till the
beginning of the Second World War in 1939, Dhyan Chand played hockey in numerous
Army events.
In 1937, Dhyan Chand spent 4 months in an Army camp in Pachmarhi. In 1938, he was honoured with the Viceroy's Commission and promoted to an officer's rank. When World War II broke out, the British officers did not allow Dhyan Chand to accompany his regiment when it went to the front to fight the Japanese. This showed the high regard the British had for Dhyan Chand.
Towards the closing years of the war, Dhyan Chand led an Army hockey team to Manipur, Burma, the Far East and Ceylon. In 1943, Dhyan Chand was honoured with the King's Commission and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
No Olympic Games took place in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II. Tokyo, hosts of the 1940 Games, declined to stage them. Hence the 1940 Games were awarded to Helsinki. However, Soviet troops invaded Helsinki so preparations for the Games were stopped. In April 1940, the Finnish Olympic Committee announced that it would not host the Games.
Dhyan Chand was sent to Ferozepur for training duty. Barely six months after Dhyan Chand left for Ferozepur, his regiment, which was on active duty in China, was captured by the Japanese.
Dhyan Chand would be in Ferozepur for seven years - from 1940 to 1947. When India attained freedom on August 15, 1947, Ferozepur became part of the newly created country of Pakistan.
Naturally, Dhyan Chand opted to settle in India. Some of the players, including Dara - who had represented India in the Olympics, decided to join the new country Pakistan.
Dhyan Chand in a classic pose