National Sports Day: Tributes pour in for Hockey Wizard Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary

New Delhi, Aug 29: As our athletes are performing in the ongoing Asian Games 2018 and aiming to bring laurels for the country, India is on Wednesday (August 29) commemorating the National Sports Day.

The National Sports Day is commemorated in the honour of former India Hockey Captain Major Dhyan Chand who was born on August 29, 1905, in Allahabad.

Major Dhyan Chand is hailed as the Greatest ever field hockey player and his contribution towards Indian hockey. Dhyan Chand won 3 Olympic Gold Medals for India (1928, 1932 & 1936) which made the country a superpower in field hockey.

Major Dhyan Chand netted three goals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics Final against Adolf Hitler's Germany to give India an 8-1 win and third consecutive gold medal. He has scored more than 400 goals in his international career for India.

On the occasion of National Sports Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this year has been great for Indian sports as country's athletes have excelled in various tournaments, including in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. Modi has always stressed the importance of sports and fitness in his life and commended the efforts of the Indian athletes participating in the ongoing Asian Games.

"I salute all those who have represented India in various sporting events. Their hard work and resolve have led to several milestones. This year has been great for our sporting fraternity, with the Indian athletes excelling in various tournaments including Asian Games 2018 and CWG," Modi tweeted.

Tributes poured in from all quarters on the birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard - whose wizardry with the hockey stick even made German dictator Adolf Hitler his admirer. Hitler even offered him a chance to move to Germany and a post of Colonel in the German Army, which the Indian declined with a smile.

Here's how Twitterati remembered Major Dhyan Chand: