Top 5 Greats Of Indian Hockey

1. DHYAN CHAND
The first name has to be of “The Hockey Wizard”. He is the best player to have played the sport in the history . Dhyan Chand won 3 Olympic gold medals and was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Indian govt. His talent crossed international boundaries and earned respect around the globe .
He scored 400 goals in his feat.
The interesting thing is that ‘Chand’ is not part of his name. As he used to practice in the moon light after his duty hours at the Army, that is why, his fellow players called him Chand which is in English called ‘Moon’.

2. Balbir Singh Sr.
He is widely regarded as one of the best centre-forwards India has ever produced. He became the second player to represent India of winning gold medals in three consecutive Olympics organized in London (1948), Helsinki(1952) (Vice Captain) and Melbourne (1956) (Captain). He was also the member of Indian hockey team which won silver medals at Asian Games 1958 and 1962. He made the record of scoring the most goals by an individual after scoring 5 goals in India’s 6-1 victory over Netherlands in the 1952 Olympic Games in which India won a gold medal. However, his record is still unbeaten.

3. Dhanraj Pillay
Achieved many national and international awards as a result of his performance in the game. He was given the Arjuna Puraskar in 1995 and the K.K. Birla Award (1998-99) for excellence in Sports. The Government of India has paid him honor by giving Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1999 and Padma Shree in 2000.
He was the only Indian player who was selected in the World Eleven side during the 1994 World Cup at Sydney. He is distinguished from other Indian players because he is the only player to have played in 3 Olympics, 3 World Cups and 4 Asian Games for his country.

4. Ajit Pal Singh
The former captain of the Indian hockey team will always be remembered as one of the most outstanding center-half in the world during his time. Ajit Pal Singh has also become part of the history after leading India to a thrilling victory in the third world cup hockey tournament at
Kuala Lumpur in 1975.
To give him accolade for his contribution to Indian Hockey, he was given Arjuna Award in 1970 and the Padma Shri award in 1992.

5. Mohammed Shahid
Is best known for his dribbling skills and is considered to be one of the best players to have ever played in the Indian hockey. He was named the ‘Best Forward’ of the 1980 Champions trophy and was part of the Indian team in the 1980 Olympic Games held by Moscow in which India won the gold medal. Because of his contribution to the game, he was given Arjuna Award in 1980-1981 and Padma Shri in 1986. His skills and ability helped him picking up a place in the Asian All-Star team in 1986.