When hockey wizard Dhyan Chand stood in queue to watch the game
Dhyan Chand was then the chief coach at NIS Patiala and travelled to Ahmedabad with his trainees to watch the tournament, a one-off meet organised by the first inspector general of police of Gujarat, JD Nagarvala, the former chairman of selectors.
“He was not given admission card. A person like Dhyan Chand was compelled to stand in queue with his wards at every match to buy tickets. It was sickening,” Gurbux describes in the book.
“He was very fond of fishing,” Gurbux writes, remembering an incident when he placed his huge fishing rod at the airport to everyone’s surprise. “He would quietly sit in his shorts and cook his catch. He would call his friends and share his cooking,” he fondly remembers.
Describing Dhyan Chand as a complete player, Gurbux writes: “Balbir Singh Sr probably is the greatest scorer that India has ever produced. KD Singh Babu was probably the greatest distributor and dribbler of the ball.” What about Dhyan Chand then?
Then answer is simple: “He was the most complete player. A fine scorer also, maybe not as great as Balbir Sr, but Balbir Sr was no distributor. The greatest, most complete player was Dhyan Chand.”
Remembering his first close interaction with “Dada Dhyan Chand”, he writes: “It was in 1955, when I turned out for Fresher’s Club and played regular matches against the Punjab Regiment managed by Dhyan Chand. I was asked by Dhyan Chand to play for them in Delhi and I appeared for Punjab Regiment against Indian Railways,” the former India captain recalls.
“I could witness the genius of Dhyan Chand in the camp held at Patiala in 1959... His complete mastery of the bully and his half-volley was something that naked eye could not catch the movement,” he writes as he goes on to profile 27 other greats.
The book also has a rare collection of photographs, including of a match between India and England at the backdrop of the iconic Lord’s balcony in a 1967 pre-olympic meet, which was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II.
The book begins with the Tokyo Olympics 1964 when India reclaimed the gold medal from Pakistan in what Singh describes as the “second golden era” that went on till the Asian Games triumph in 1968. The recognition for Gurbux, a full-back who led India to the 1966 Asian Games gold, came in 1967 when he was awarded the Arjuna.
“I was given third-class fare from Kolkata to Delhi and received the award from then President of India Zakir Hussain. There was no money, it was just the award and the certificate,” he says.