August 29, 2018 marks the 113th birth anniversary of legendary Indian Hockey player Dhyan Chand. The Indian "wizard" of hockey, as he was called for his impeccable talent with the stick, is considered by fans fans as well as critics as the greatest player ever in the history of Hockey. Born in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, then United Provinces, on August 29, 1905, Dhyan Chand was influenced by his elder brother Roop Chand, who was also a hockey player.

Dhyan Chand loved wrestling when he was young. His father, who was serving in the British Indian Army, used to play hockey in the army. Few know that Dhyan Chand had to stop his education just six years of schooling, due to the regular transfers of his father.

The family, after years of moving from one city to another, finally decided to settle in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Dhyan Chand resumed his education from the Victoria College in Gwalior and got his formal education there.

Dhyan Chand joined the Indian Army at the age of 16, and there is an interesting anecdote related to his name. According to an account, Dhyan Chand had started practising hockey while he was in the Army, but he used to wait for the moon to come out, so that he could practice in whatever little light that was possible, since in that era, nightlights or flood lights were not available.

The word Chand also means moon in Hindi. And his friends started calling him moon since he  practiced so much in the night. Dhyan Chand then started representing India and went on to win three Olympic Gold Medals for India in the year 1928, 1932 and 1936.

Chand was the top scorer in the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics, in which India beat Netherlands, the home team by 3-0. Chand had scored 14 goals in the five matches played. A newspaper report published then mentions "Dhyan Chand is in fact the magician of hockey."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2018 12:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).