NEW DELHI: Hockey wizard Dhyan Chand was a "great man, great human being and a great player" and it is a surprise that he has not yet been conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, says former India hockey captain B.P. Govinda.
"The Bharat Ratna is conferred in recognition of the laurels that people brought to the country and so on and it is based on recommendations and nominations. I say that (when) so many people have recommended (Dhyan Chand's name for the honour) why not give it to Dada?" Govinda, who is remembered as a fiery forward who was part of the India team that won the 1975 World Cup, told IANS.
"Being a hockey wizard and someone who is well known around the world, why not? Why shouldn't he get it? People have compared Dhyan Chand to what Pele was to football. I knew 'Dada' well; I had met him at the National Institute of Sport (NIS) in Patiala. He was known world over but he never showed that," said the 69-year-old player who was also part of the Indian team that finished runners-up in the 1973 tournament and clinched bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics. IANS