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Discover hockey's answer to Pele | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Imagine a hockey player with such skill awestruck spectators thought he was a magician! Well, that was the case with Indian legend Dhyan Chand, who wowed the world with his wonderful hockey wizardry. He was the Pele of his age, hockey's equivalent of Muhammad Ali. Quite simply, the best in the business. Read on to find out more about the best hockey player the world has ever seen.
So, who was Dhyan Chand? He was a hockey genius and an all-time sporting great. Did he really have magical powers? His nickname was the hockey wizard, but there was no abracadabra about it! Just pure skill and talent. Still, some people were convinced he must be cheating because they had never seen such amazing stickwork. They even reckoned he had a magnet in the hook of his stick to attract the ball. Of course, it wasn't true. Even when he played with a walking stick, Chand could find the back of the net.
Wow, he must have been really good! The best. He scored over 1,000 goals in a career spanning 22 years from 1926-1948. During that time he won three Olympic gold medals. What set him apart then? Over 50 years on, and few players have ever lived up to the legend of Dhyan Chand. He had brilliant ball control and would often weave the length of the pitch to score, leaving defenders trailing in his wake. But that's not all. As well as being a prolific goalscorer, Chand also had excellent timing and awareness. He always knew where his team-mates were and the right time to pass to them. And he knew you didn't always have to smash the ball to score. He could find the back of the net just as easily by clever placing and pushing of the ball.
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