Berlin Olympics witness recalls Dhyan Chand's magic

New Delhi, Aug 26 (UNI) At 92 years of age, PC Mehra can't exactly recall whether Adolf Hitler stayed on to watch the entire hockey final between India and Germany in the 1936 Berlin Olympics but what he cannot forget is the magic that Dhyan Chand weaved with his stick on the historic day on which India humiliated the hosts to claim the Gold medal.

Witness to one of the golden moments in Indian hockey, Mr Mehra shared his experience of being there as a spectator on the historic day in Berlin at a function to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Gold medal won by the Dhyan Chand led team.

''Dhyan Chand was a great human being and he was simply amazing on that day,'' Mr Mehra told reporters while recalling the momentous day on which the Indians stunned the Germans 8-1 to win the Olympic Gold.

Mr Mehra, who was in the German capital for an internship stint with a phramaceutical company, said he was witness to all the matches India played and the reason was the presence of the 'Hockey wizard' in the team.

''I had gone to Germany to intern with a pharma company but when I came to know of the Olympics, I decided to watch the event. Dhyan Chand's presence was the main reason why I attended the final. I knew the Indian team's coach at that time and asked him to arrange for the tickets,'' Mr Mehra said.

Mr Mehra, who is now settled in Amritsar, said despite the thrashing that the Indians handed out to the Germans, the locals cheered the underdogs after the win and showed their appreciation by clapping for the Olympic Champions, who were not even in a position to come and play.

''The Germans clapped for the Indians after the win. But it was not as easy for them as it looks now. They did not have the money to come to Berlin in the first place. The funds for the trip came from the Britishers living in India and the Nizam of Hyderabad was the biggest contibutor with 5,000 Rs,'' he said.

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