Times of India: Three Olympic gold, yet no recognition for Dhyan Chand: Dilip Tirkey

By Ishan Chowdhury

NEW DELHI: The “Path of Protest” in Jantar Mantar was crowded with distinguished former hockey players reminiscing Major Dhyan Chand – one of the country’s most known names in sport – and ‘ demanding+ ‘ that a Bharat Ratna award be given to him posthumously.

Addressing a crowd, former India hockey captain and now Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Tirkey would pause briefly every few sentences to allow a gentle smile to grace his face. It set the mood of an event that was strictly “not a protest”. His words, though, were well thought out.

“Look at how much we are struggling to win medals in the Olympics now. This is a man who won three gold (1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics) and yet isn’t getting the recognition he deserves. I feel that there may be some political reason behind this,” Tirkey told TOI. Like all others taking the stage, he was also wearing a white T-shirt that had the Major’s face printed on the front.

Even PM Narendra Modi spoke about Dhyan Chand in his radio talk on Sunday morning, remembering the hockey maestro’s contribution to sports. Tirkey said, “It’s encouraging that he is interested in sports. But the time for action has come and we hope that things will move briskly from here.”

Dhyan Chand’s son and former India hockey international Ashok Kumar who also won the 1975 World Cup, was also present on the occasion. He said: “It is a shame that we have to ask for this, but if the government is continuously ignoring our plea then we are left with no option.” The debate is not new, but since the sportspersons were made eligible for Bharat Ratna in 2012, it is the first time that such a large number of athletes have got together and signed a memorandum to be sent to the President and Prime Minister.

Saying that ‘dada’ Dhyan Chand should have been the first to receive the award, possibly ahead of former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (2014), former hockey player Zafar Iqbal – gold medal winner in the 1980 Moscow Games – said, “We can only hope that he gets it. Dhyan Chand is the most deserving sportsperson the country has had.”

‘Other sports are being discriminated against’

Continuing the argument of Sa chin Tendulkar winning the award ahead of those who deserved it as much, Tirkey drew attention towards the lack of respect shown to other sports. “The government has to promote all sports equally. If someone is doing something extraordinary, the same type of reward should be there for all sportspersons competing on the global stage,” he said.

Sand structure steals show

Sudarsan Pattnaik, one of India’s finest sand artists, had arrived six hours before the event to create a sculpture of the legend. Next to the stage, he had made a big model of the sporting icon with the text ‘Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand’. “I’m a good friend of Trikey, and he has been discussing this with me for a while now. Coming here and presenting my work for such a good cause is my way of paying respect to the finest athlete we have ever had,” he said.