Perhaps, Dyan Chand told his relative about the meeting with Hitler but he didn't mention it in his autobiography GOAL. He wrote that "after the closing scenes, a grand banquet was held in the Deutsche Hall where as far as I remember Herr Hitler was p[resent. We left the banquet early and boarded a train at Pottsdammer station to commence our post-Olympic tour of the Continent." Fortunately, the match with Germany has been mentioned, including the fact that India lost to Germany in the practice match by four goals to one. This played heavily on the minds of the Indians when the team met Germany in the final. The Hindu correspondent wrote, "Every member of the team was feeling the strain of the first defeat at the hands of the Germans in the practice match, and no one was his usual self." In the practice match, India has many chances but failed to cash on them. In the final, Germany paid for making the effort in adopting India's game. As The Hindu correspondent wrote, "Germany in her confidence or foolishness adopted India's game and took also to short passes which proved the undoing of a very strong German combination." Germany was also able to restrict India to just one goal before half-time. In the second half, India went on an all-out attack. As the correspondent writes, "Dhyan Chand discarded his stockings and spiked shoes and played with bare legs and rubber soles and became speedier in the second half." The team was probably given "spiked shoes" because the turf was wet from previous day's rains. The final was postponed because of the rains on that day and playedn the next day, which happened to be the last day, Aug. 15, of the Games. I wonder if there were "spikes" on the tennis or canvas shoes which Dyan then discarded.
Eugene Correia
