India had a rich tradition of supremacy in sports and games down the ages. The epics and history recount the heroic deeds in archery, wrestling, sword-fighting and other contests displayed by our legendary stalwarts. But waves of invasions and long years of foreign domination decimated this legacy of skill and prowess.
Even so, there have been instances of India’s wrestlers like Gama and his brother Imam Bux who had floored the champions of other lands. More recently, Dara Singh, the world free-style champion, had the upper hand over the fabulous King Kong and others.
India’s sportsmen and women have won laurels at the Asian and Commonwealth competitions. But with the lone exception of hockey they have failed to attain international standards at the Olympics and world meets. Even the hockey crown has slipped out of India’s hands in recent years.
India cast its spell of hockey supremacy over a period beyond three decades. The sports-minded European and other nations subsequently caught up with the Indian techniques. With partition Pakistan emerged as a formidable rival in the sub-continent itself. Earlier, between the Amsterdam Olympiad in 1928 and the Rome Games in 1960 India had a monopolistic hold on the World’s hockey crown.
Hockey
The name of the ‘Hockey Wizard’ Dhyan Chand is synonymous with the golden era of India’s supremacy in the game. The legendary feats of the superstar place him in the niche as the all-time brightest exponent of the vigorous game. No one anywhere has equaled him as the world’s foremost hockey centre-forward. He spearheaded the all-conquering Indian hockey contingent from 1928