On the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand which is also celebrated as the National Sports Day across the nation, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag shared some lesser-known facts about the hockey wizard on Tuesday.

One of the most astonishing players of field hockey, Dhyan Chand was the backbone of the Indian hockey team during an era when they dominated the world of hockey.

He helped India win three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) and earned the tag ‘The Wizard’ for his extraordinary skills and control over the ball.

Sehwag, in a series of tweets, remembered India’s greatest hockey talent on the occasion of National Sports Day.

“Tributes to the greatest hockey player of all times and India’s greatest sportsman, Major Dhyan Chand on #NationalSportsDay,” Sehwag captioned a picture of the legend on Twitter.

Following the picture, Sehwag gave his followers a classroom lesson on Dhyan Chand, revealing some of his unknown facts.

16-year-old sensation on turf

“Every child in the country must know about the legend Major Dhyan Chand was. He joined the Indian army at the age of 16 and retired in 1956,” he said.

Chand’s love for moon

“He was called Chand by his team-mates because he used to wait for the moon to come out for practice. He was also called as ‘The Wizard’,” Sehwag tweeted.

Barefoot but highly determined

Former India opener also shed light on an incident that happened during the 1936 Olympic final, where India emerged as gold medallist in the end.

“During the 1936 Olympic final against Germany, it’s said that Dhyan Chand removed his spiked shoes & stockings in 2nd half & played barefoot,” he said.

Sehwag continued: “Barefoot, he scored 3 goals. What a legend! In Netherlands, once the authorities broke his hockey stick to check if there was a magnet inside.”

The man who refused to salute Hitler

Sehwag shared another interesting fact, “It is said that in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dhyan Chand who was the flag-bearer, refused to salute Adolf Hitler. What a man!”

Dhyan Chand’s following worldwide

Sehwag tweeted about Dhyan Chand’s worldwide fan following, saying: “During 1936 Olympics, the whole city of Berlin had posters: ‘Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action’.”

Cricket connect

“Sir Don Bradman on seeing Dhyan Chand said, “You score goals like runs”. Such a legend needs to be known and celebrated so much more,” Sehwag tweeted, connecting the two legends of different sports.