Know the man behind 'National Sports Day', courtesy Virender Sehwag

While India celebrates the occasion of 'National Sports Day', birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag took the opportunity to introduce the hockey legend to the younger generation.

Paying tribute to the greatest hockey player of all time, Sehwag took to Twitter and insisted that every child of the country should know about Dhyanchand.

"Tributes to the greatest hockey player of all times and India's greatest sportsman, Major Dhyanchand on #NationalSportsDay. Every child in the country must know about the legend Major Dhyanchand was.He joined the Indian army at the age of 16 and retired in 1956," Sehwag tweeted.

 

Here are some other interesting facts about Dhyan Chand which Sehwag shared :

"He was called Chand by his team-mates because he used to wait for the moon to come out for practice. He was also called as "The Wizard"."

"During the1936 Olympic final against Germany, it's said that Dhyan Chand removed his spiked shoes & stockings in 2nd half & played barefoot."

"Barefoot, he scored 3 goals.What a legend !In Netherlands,once the authorities broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside."

"It is said that in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dhyan Chand who was the flag-bearer, refused to salute Adolf Hitler. What a man !"

"During 1936 Olympics, the whole city of Berlin had posters: "Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action."

"Sir Don Bradman on seeing Dhyan Chand said, "You score goals like runs". Such a legend needs to be known and celebrated so much more."

Meanwhile, veteran goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, Paralymian Deepa Malik and former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif were among the others, who remembered the hockey wizard on the occasion of National Sports Day.

Major Dhyan Chand guided the Indian men's hockey team to three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936. He had also netted 400 goals for the country by the time he played his last match in 1948.

On this day, each year, the President of India presents sports-related awards namely the Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to honour sportspersons and coaches for their contribution to their respective sports.