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| Indian Hockey Players
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Indian Hockey has not produced only legends; it has produced wizards, magicians and sorcerers. Hockey sticks of Indian players were broken and checked for magnets, sticks have been secretly replaced, and statues have been erected in their memory. These master controllers of the ball, paused the entire world, while they dribbled, tackled, and scored at lightning speed, while the spectators along with the opponents, watched. From centre forwards to centre halves, from defenders to goalkeepers, each position has produced more than one legend that has made the country proud. Brief profiles of the hockey players, who have done India proud, in the international arena, are given below:
 1. Dhyan Chand: Famous the world over as the `Hockey Wizard`, he dominated the game like no other player in the history of the game. Dhyan Chand, along with the ranks of Don Bradman and Jesse Owens, stands among the all time greatest giants of the sporting world. Once a sepoy in the British Indian Army, Dhyan Chand`s wizardry with the hockey stick caught the attention of his seniors and soon earned him a place in the Indian national team. His original name is Dhyan Singh, and hockey earned him the name Dhyan Chand. While posted in he Army, he would be busy with army duties during the day, and so, when all his colleagues would rest during night, Dhyan would practise by the moonlight, with a stick and a ball and hence earned himself the name, Dhyan Chand.
Representing India in three Olympics, Dhyan Chand mesmerized the world audience with his audacious jugglery and leadership qualities. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, when India thrashed the U. S. by 24 goals to one, Dhyan Chand and his brother Roop Singh wreaked havoc in the opposition defence, each scoring eight goals. Four years later, at the Berlin Games, Dhyan Chand was again in the thick of action when India drubbed the hosts by a huge margin in the final.
Such was Dhyan Chand`s virtuosity that people actually refused to believe what they have seen with their naked eyes. They broke his stick in Holland to check if there was a magnet inside and in Japan they thought, it was glue. In Vienna Sports Club stands a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks. Dhyan Chand was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India`s third highest civilian award, in 1956. The `National Sports Day` in India is observed on his birthday, on August 29th.
 2. Balbir Singh: Balbir Singh Sr., born on October 10, 1924, was one of the best centre forwards to have played for India. An opportunist in the penalty circle, Balbir was bestowed with the uncanny knack to score goals at will. Balbir was a member of the gold winning Indian hockey teams in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympic games. He was the flag bearer of the Indian Olympic Contingent at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Balbir was also a member of the Indian hockey team that won the silver medal at the Asian Games 1958 as well as the Asian Games 1962. Post-retirement, Balbir enjoyed a successful stint as Indian team manager leading the team to a silver medal in the 1971 World Cup and the gold in the 1975 World Cup. In 1957, Balbir Singh Senior became the first hockey player to be awarded the Padma Shri.
 3. Ajit Pal Singh: Ajit Pal Singh was an outstanding centre-half of Indian hockey team. Born on April 1, 1947, Ajit Pal Singh made his international debut in 1966 and in the very next year he took part in the Pre-Olympic tournament in London and booked his place in the Indian team for the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Despite Indian finishing third, Ajit Pal made a fine impression with his precise and flawless ball distribution. He captained the Indian team that played the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Ajit Pal represented India at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games and captained the team to the 1974 Teheran Asian Games, India emerging second best each time. Ajit`s dexterous display earned him a place in the Asian All-Star team in 1974.
The hallmark of Ajit Pal Singh`s illustrious career was the 1975 World Cup when he led India to their maiden Cup victory with an emphatic win over archrivals Pakistan. The whole country reveled in this magnificent triumph and the victorious team received a rousing welcome.
 4. Leslie Claudius: Leslie Claudius stands tall among a bevy of Indian hockey legends. Born on March 25, 1927, Claudius was hailed as one of the finest right-halves of his time. For someone who started with football and even played in the IFA Shield, Leslie`s rise in the Indian hockey turf was meteoric. Leslie virtually owned the position of an ace player, in the world-beating Indian team that won three consecutive Olympic gold medals from 1948 to 1956. Despite figuring in the Guinness Book of World Records for having won the maximum number of Olympic medals in hockey--three gold and a silver-Leslie Claudius would also be remembered as the captain of the Indian team that lost the Olympic gold in 1960 Tokyo Games after reigning supreme for 28 years. Claudius was awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 for his contribution to Indian hockey.
 5. Dhanraj Pillay: Dhanraj Pillay, ace Indian striker, was born on July 16, 1968 at Kirkee in Maharashtra. The hero of many epic Indian victories, the mercurial Dhanraj has been to Indian hockey what Leander Paes has been to Indian tennis and Sachin Tendulkar to Indian Cricket. Dhanraj fine-tuned his raw talent under the tutelage of elder brother Ramesh, who himself was a former India international. After a fine stint with his employers Mahindra & Mahindra and Mumbai in national championships, Dhanraj was taken in the national hockey team for the Asia Cup of 1989.
In a glorious career spanning 15 years, Dhanraj has represented India in four Summer Olympics (`92, `96, 2000, 2004), four World Hockey Cups, four Champions Trophies, four Asian Games, and four Asia Cups. For a long time, Dhanraj has been synonymous with Indian hockey and his spirited efforts have kept the Indian tricolour flying high in more occasions than one. Dhanraj was the highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games and was the only Indian player to figure in the World Eleven side during the 1994 World Cup at Sydney. He has also received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1999) and been conferred with the coveted Padma Shri in 2000.
 6. Gagan Ajit Singh: Captain of the Indian junior team that won Junior World Cup in 2001; member of the All-Asian men`s hockey team in 2002; Arjuna Award in 2003, Gagan Ajit Singh is the present as well as the future of Indian hockey.
Gagan Ajit Singh is one of the mainstays of the present Indian hockey team. Born on December 9, 1980, at Ferozpore, Punjab, Gagan Ajit developed a passion for the game at an early age since both his father, Ajit Singh, and uncle, Harmik Singh, were former Olympians of repute. A fleet-footed centre-forward, Gagan Ajit made his first impression on the national circuit scoring a record 27 goals in the 1997 Junior Nationals for the Air-India Academy. Carrying on the good work, he also emerged as the highest scorer for Air-India in the all-India Gurmit Singh tournament and the Jawaharlal Nehru tournament in 1997.
Gagan earned his place in the national team by scoring in his debut match against Trinidad & Tobago at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Since then Gagan Ajit has become a regular feature in the Indian frontline. In 2001, Gagan Ajit led the Indian junior squad to a fabulous triumph at the Junior World Cup held at Hobart, Australia. Gagan was named in the All-Asian men`s hockey team in 2002 after the 14th Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea.
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