With the government paving the way for sportspersons to be conferred with the country’s highest civilian award - the Bharat Ratna, Hockey India requested the sports ministry to bestow the honour on the late Major Dhyan Chand.
In a letter addressed to sports minister Ajay Maken, HI welcomed the modification of rules and urged the government to confer the prestigious award to Dhyan Chand for his unparalleled contribution to Indian hockey.
Dhyan Chand is acknowledged as the all—time great of the game, and is probably the only Indian sportsman that has generated number of myths about his ability as a hockey player, a release from the HI stated.
In view of Dhyan Chand’s rarest of rare achievements, there is no other deserving sporting icon other than him to be considered for the coveted title, the release added.
Dhyan Chand is credited with scoring over 1000 international goals during his illustrious career spanning over two decades starting from 1926.
He also won three successive gold medals at Olympic Games at Amsterdam in 1928, Los Angles in 1932 and Berlin in 1936 and was the first Indian Sportsman to be conferred with the Padma Bhushan Award in 1956.
