Tag: India

Remembering Dhyanchand Singh the great with his connections with the National Club on the National Sports Day

The National Sports Day of India celebrates the birth anniversary of the hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand Singh known as the “Hockey Wizard” solemnly recognizing his extraordinary skills and role in securing India’s three successive Olympic gold medals in hockey in 1928, 1932, and 1936. His unmatched stick-work, scoring ability and sportsmanship brought international fame to Indian hockey.

Such was his ball control, even Adolf Hitler was also highly impressed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. India went on to thrash hosts Germany by 8-1 in the final to clinch the gold medal for the third time in a row. Dhyan Chand put up an outstanding display scoring 4 goals. After the match, Hitler checked out his stick, if any glue or magnet was attached to control the ball. He even offered Dhyan Chand to play for the German national side, which was gladly turned town by the true patriot Major saab at once.

Major Dhyan Chand himself was  a player from Services and not a regular member of Mohun Bagan hockey team. But he donned the prestigious Mohun Bagan jersey on a few occasions and always felt excited to stay connected with the national club. He also attended as a honorary guest in the club’s platinum jubilee program in 1964 and penned a greeting message for the club’s success. 

Major Dhyan Chand had immensely friendly terms with his contemporary stalwarts of Indian sports like Gostha Pal and Syed Mustaq Ali. Later Dhyan Chand inspired his sons Raj Kumar, Ashok Kumar (former India captain) to go on to don the green and maroon jersey. Two legends Dhyan Chand and Gostha Pal in a single frame sharing a candid moment in Mohun Bagan’s Platinum Jubilee in 1964 still remains a treasure of all time in Indian sports history.

Time for the national team show : CAFA Nations Cup ’25

The 2025 CAFA Nations Cup will be the second edition of the tournament organised by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) cohosted by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 29 to September 8. India has been announced as the guest team, featuring in Group B with Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The participant nations of Group A are Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Oman. Iran won the first edition of the CAFA Nations Cup in 2023.

Different ground and environmental conditions, battle against teams with players of strong built-up, new national coach of Indian origin (Khalid Jamil) with fresh strategy – altogether it’s obviously going to be an exciting international exposure for the Blue Tigers. Hope, the boys would perform well and hold our tricolour high. India will take on host nation Tajikistan tomorrow (Aug 29), while the inaugural match will be between Afghanistan and defending champion Iran. This time, the Indian squad have no members from Mohun Bagan though. Let’s have a quick look at the full squad and the group stage fixtures (as per IST) of Group B.

Meme courtesy: AIFF official page

Club celebrates 15th August

15th August is an immensely symbolic and significant date for Mohun Bagan — not just because it is Independence Day of India, but because it surprisingly coincides with the foundation day of the club in 1889, making it one of the oldest active football clubs in Asia and a cultural icon in Indian sports history.

Mohun Bagan’s inception in 1889 during the British colonial regime was seen as a patriotic act, a response to the colonial dominance in sports. Their legendary barefooted IFA Shield win in 1911 against East Yorkshire Regiment became a rallying cry for Indian nationalism and freedom movement.

Every Independence Day, the club commemorates its roots with tributes, flag hoisting, and cultural events that blend football with freedom.

This year too, the club officials hoisted the National tricolour, as well as, the Club’s green-and-maroon flag in the prestigious club lawn to commemorate 79th and 137th Anniversary of the Nation’s independence and club’s establishment respectively.