7 Enduring Tough Lessons from the Legendary Hockey Player Dhyan Chand On Creating History in Your Chosen Profession
It’s
hard to predict in advance what you’ll eventually grow to love.
n Cal
Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You
His name was Dhyan Singh.
It cannot be said that
playing hockey was his passion. He didn’t even start playing the game until he
joined the British Indian Army at a very young age of sixteen.
Watching others play hockey
in the army, he also picked up the stick. As he dribbled the ball he started
enjoying and took a liking to hockey. That was the turning point of his life.
He was so fascinated by the
game of hockey that when others would rest after duty hours, he would pick up
his hockey stick and go out into the night to practice. There were no
floodlights so he would wait for the moon to shine and then he would practice
under the moonlight for hours into the night.
Practicing all alone in the
moonlight became his daily routine. His fellow players started calling him
‘Chand’ (moon). And thus, Dhyan Singh became Dhyan Chand.
Under the able guidance
of Subedar-Major Bale Tiwari, a keen hockey enthusiast, Dhyan Chand went on refine
and sharpen his hockey skills. The way he played hockey at national and
international level, he came to be known across the world as
the wizard or The Magician of Hockey for his superb ball control on the field.
Under the British Rule,
Dhyan Chand led India in Olympic and the team won three consecutive Gold Medals
at the Olympic Games in the year 1928, 1932, 1936 crushing the opponents by
huge margin.
Every year in honor of the
legendary player, 29th Aug, his birthday is celebrated as National
Sports Day.
There are some interesting anecdotes
from the life of Dhyan Chand that we will see as we look into how he came to
know across the world as the wizard or the magician of hockey.
Can we learn a few tips from
his success journey and apply it in our lives to accomplish what we truly desire?
Of course!
Let’s get started.
7 Enduring Tough Lessons from the Legendary Hockey Player Dhyan Chand On Creating History in Your Chosen Profession
1. Passion is the consequence of Mastery:
There is this wrong notion
that one should wait to find his passion and then decide what he wants to do
with his life.
Dhyan Chand discovered his
love for hockey only when he joined the army and started playing the game. In
fact, reports suggest that he loved wrestling before he joined the army.
Only after he had tried his
hand at hockey it dawned on him that hockey is the one game that he wanted to
play. He spent so many years practicing for hours and hours that during the
match the ball refused to leave his hockey stick. Dhyan Chand found his
identity in the game of hockey and eventually hockey became the passion of
Dhyan Chand.
What valuable lesson can
we learn from this?
Don’t just sit and wait for
your passion to strike. Instead try out new things and see if you can excel at
that. May be if you give it enough time, that thing will turn out to be your
passion.
As you explore your talent
and if you hit upon something that you can connect to and can excel at it, keep
on doing more of that task. Find a coach to train you. Work diligently to develop
your skill through deliberate practice and develop excellence at it.
Passion doesn’t mean that
things will come easy or naturally to you.
Dhyan Chand advanced in the
game and exhibited excellent hockey playing skills because he practiced hard
and played with precision.
2. Don’t Give Yourself Excuses, Find a Way:
Playing hockey was not
something that Dhyan Chand did in his leisure time or when he felt like playing.
Once in his heart he knew that he wanted to play hockey, he found time or
rather he made time to practice.
He could not play during his
duty hours so he decided to play after his duty hours. When his fellow players
relaxed and rested after their duty, Dhyan Chand would be out in the ground
with his hockey stick. He played at night in moon light as at that time flood
lights were not available. It was something he was connected to and wanted to
do so he didn’t make any excuses.
If a profession or a task or
a sport really matters to an individual, and if he is willing and dedicated, he
will always find a way to practice. On the other hand, if it is only a wish, he
will find excuses, he will blame others, blame the weather and sit at home.
In recent times, in the year
2021, the same devotion and dedication shown by Neeraj Chopra saw him create
history by winning Gold Medal at Tokyo Olympic Games in javelin throw.
3. Know Your Field & Your Goal (Post):
Dhyan Chand had in depth
knowledge of hockey. He identified and made himself acquainted with every
single factor on the field that could either help him or stop him from scoring
a goal.
His calculations on the field
was so perfect and flawless that it made him and his team score goals like a
batsman scores runs in a cricket match.
There’s a very interesting
story behind his faultless calculations that will take you by surprise.
Once in a match he dribbled
the ball towards the opponent’s goal post and hit the ball to score a goal. The
ball instead of going in between the goalpost hit the goalpost and bounced back.
He complained to the referee that the width of the goalpost was less than the
standard. This was something nobody could fathom. When the width of the goal
post was measured it was actually found to be smaller than the usual standard width.
Dhyan Chand practiced
playing the game with such precision that he knew if he hit the ball from a
certain point or at a certain angle on the ground it had to race into the
goalpost and not hit the goalpost.
4. Maintain Your Cool Even in Adverse Situations:
No matter how bad the
situation is, never lose your self-control. Just remain focused on the goal.
On the field, even under
high pressure and stressful situations, Dhyan Chand remained as cool as a
cucumber. He never lost his temper or allowed the situation to get out of
control on the field.
His laser focus objective to
win the Gold along with his balanced temperament facilitated him to sail
through even in the most difficult situations.
Here’s an interesting
incident from the field.
During a match a player from
the opponent team got frustrated because how much ever he tried, he was not
able to snatch the ball from Dhyan Chand’s hockey. He lost his cool and in
anger hit Dhyan Chand with his hockey. Dhyan Chand had to leave the field. But
soon he was back on the field after getting first aid treatment. He went to the
player who had hit him and said something to the effect – no problem.
The entire game the opponent
player was thinking that Dhyan Chand will take his revenge and he was cautious.
Dhyan Chand did take his
revenge by hitting multiple goals and winning the match.
In another incident, when
teams usually try to save the match in the last few minutes of the game, Dhyan
Chand was so aggressive and absorbed on winning that he hit three quick goals
in the last four minutes of the match.
When you are in the zone,
even four minutes are enough to build upon your success.
Just Amazing!
5. Bring Together a Team of Well Qualified Players and Have Faith in Them to Perform:
When you don’t show trust on
your team members to perform, either they are not talented and capable enough
or you are selfish and want to take the full credit.
Hockey is a team sport. Even
if he scored the maximum goals, one player cannot take the full credit for a
win or take the blame for a loss.
Dhyan Chand had full faith
in his team members.
He believed in the
capabilities of the players in his team. He knew that when an opportunity
strikes to hit a goal they will hit a goal.
There is an interesting
incident that occurred in a game which cements the fact about the faith Dhyan
Chand showed on his team players.
Once during a match, as
Dhyan Chand raced towards the opponent’s goal post with the ball, he saw that
his team member was in better position to hit the goal. Dhyan Chand passed the
ball to his fellow player and then turned and walked away with confidence that showed
that another goal has been scored. He didn’t wait to see whether his fellow
team player scored the goal or not. He was sure his fellow player will hit the
goal. The team player also lived up to the expectations.
6. Don’t Give in. Learn to Improvise:
Why
give in when you can improvise?
Improvisation: to use what you have and make, do, or manage something better
without preparation. It is also making something up on the spot, or figuring
it out as you go, in order to achieve the desired result.
The year was 1936. The event
was Berlin Olympic Games. India was playing against Germany in the finals.
During half time India was leading 1-0. After the half time Dhyan Chand entered
the ground bare foot and India went on to beat Germany 8-1 and brought home the
Gold medal.
7. Always Be Truthful and Honest Towards Your Profession/Game:
Twice during international
tournament, the authorities doubted the hockey stick of Dhyan Chand.
The doubt arose because as
the authorities watched Dhyan Chand play they found that once he had the ball
with him, no opposition player was able to take it away from him. The ball
remained stuck to his hockey stick as he dribbled the ball all around the
ground. The ball left his hockey stick only when he passed it on.
In Netherlands, the match
was stopped and Dhyan Chand’s hockey was broken to check if there was some kind
of magnet hidden inside his hockey because of which the ball remained glued to
his hockey stick.
During another match against
Japan, again Dhyan Chand’s hockey stick was checked to see if some kind of gum
was attached to his hockey.
Of course, there was no
truth to any of these allegations.
Dhyan Chand is believed to
have said that he had never cheated nor will he ever cheat in his game. The
mastery he had accomplished was due to his rigorous hard work and practice.
In Conclusion
In his entire career Dhyan Chand scored 400 plus goals. In fact, the legendary batsman Sir Don Bradman once remarked, Dhyan Chand scores goals the same way he scores runs in cricket match.
Such was his mastery and
control on the ball that it is said that once a lady gave him a stick or her
umbrella and asked Dhyan Chand to play with it. Her argument was that if you
are the magician of hockey, you should be able to play with any stick, not just
hockey sticks.
Dhyan Chand took up the
challenge and played quite well, even scoring few goals.
According to the players who
played alongside him, Dhyan Chand was a team player. He was known for passing
the ball whenever he saw a teammate at a better position to score.
In 1936 Berlin Olympics, after
India defeated Germany in front of Adolf Hitler, the German dictator offered
Dhyanchand a high position in German Army and citizenship of Germany. But
Dhyanchand politely declined the offer for the love of his country – India.
Born on 29th Aug
1905 and died on 3 Dec 1979, Dhyan Chand spent 74 years on this planet putting
India on the world map in the game of hockey.
Lately, Khel Ratna award has
been renamed after Major Dhyanchand as ‘Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award.’
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