Here how he described his unforgettable moments of hockey.
Q : When did you start hockey ?
A : I began playing hockey in childhood. I had speed and guile because I used to play with the branch of a tree but a bitter challenge by a school teacher Swami Jagannath spurred me to make a name in hockey. His view was that I was wasting time in hockey. I was then around 13 and it was the challenge from my teacher. Later on, I also represented Aligarh University, Bombay Customs after a learning a lot about hockey at Lahores Forman Christian College. Formed by Charles William Forman in 1865, it was very influential in developing the educational system of Punjab.
Q : Who founded the Afghan Club ?
A : It was me who laid the foundation of this club at Jalandhar, which developed a strong rivalry with the Sansarpurs Sikh Club, headed by 1932 LA Olympic Gold Medallist Gurmeet Singh. The matches between the two clubs used to be great crowd-pullers. The ferocity with which Sikhs and the Pathans fought for supremacy in hockey often resulted in rough and violent play.
Q : Who brought hockey to sub-continent ?
A : Hockey became popular in India when the British Regiments played the game in India and introduced it in the British Indian Regiments who quickly picked up the game. The first hockey club was formed in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1885-86 followed by Bombay (now Mumbai) and Punjab. Organizations came up to give the sport right direction. The Bengal Hockey Association was the first such body to come up in 1908. With the popularity of the game, associations were formed in different states like Bombay, Bihar, Orissa and Delhi. The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), however, came into being only in 1925.
Q : From where you used to get the sticks and other hockey accessories in those days?
A : We used to get the hockey sticks from the sports goods industry of Sialkot, important industrial city of Pakistan, which has over a century old history. Later on, Uberoi Limited, running by two Uberoi brothers, Ganda Singh and Jhanda Singh, became the official suppliers of sticks. Oberoi Ltd used to manufacture quality hockey sticks.
Q : How about 9th Olympiad at the Dutch soil ?
A : Firstly, it will be remembered for the debut of Olympic torch or Olympic Flame in quadrennial Games. There was no torch relay in the ancient Olympic Games. In 1928 Games, Forty-six nations put 3014 athletes in 14 sports (109 events)
Since hockey was held before the rest of the Olympic events, we couldnt see much of other sports, but that Games were dry as compared to the fanfare we have now in the Olympics. The actual Olympic ceremony and other sporting events took place two months after completion of hockey event. As a result, we did not have the good fortune of enjoying the Olympic atmosphere, the solemn rituals of the opening ceremony and the subsequent thrills and excitement. Amsterdam Games made possible thanks to public support as the Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmine was against the event. Considering it a "demonstration of paganism, she refused to attend the opening ceremony. The Olympiad was noted not only for the appearance of the Olympic flame, but for the appearance of women in athletics events - despite recommendations to the contrary by Olympic founder Baron de Coubertin.
Q : What were the elements behind getting gold in Olympics 1928 ?
A : Discipline and accepting the challenge earned me top step of ladder in the Olympiad 76 years ago. No sportsmen can win highest award without these golden rules. I have lived this long because of discipline in my life. To be an Olympic Champion is a great honor. I felt honored when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent me greetings on my 99th birthday last year. I am thankful to IOC President Jacques Rogge for remembering my display way back in 1928.
Q : How the Olympic hockey squad of British India was selected in 1928 ?
A : Calcutta Football Club (CFC), set up in 1872, got the privilege of holding First National Championship which was contested on knockout basis. That event was vital for selection process. I caught the eye of selectors by scoring two goals in the semi-final. When we came to Calcutta for the five-team event, we were told that it would be run on a league basis, but later the IHF decided otherway. This was because the CFC ground would not have lasted for about ten/eleven matches if played on a league basis. I was representing Punjab as spearhead and we were given a bye and directly faced, on 14 February 1928, the strong United Provinces (UP), having services of Dhyan Chand, in the semis. It was a memorable match which locked 3-3. The way Punjab staged recovery was a grand last-gasp action. And I was instrumental in it. The UP team was 3-l up and there was only five minutes left for play. Hopeless as the situation looked, Punjab never gave up trying, and I scored a goal to reduce the arrears. Indeed, there did not seem to be time for leveller. But myself shot away for the UP goal straight from the bully-off, hoodwinked many tacklers and fired the ball in before anyone quite realized what was happening. Replay was ordered and we lost it 1-2. UP maintained supremacy and become first National Champion of India on 16 February by beating Rajputana 3 - 1.
Q : What send-off accorded to Indian team ?
A : We sailed from Bombay on 10 March 1928 on Kaiser-i-Hind of Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company (P&O). Sadly, only three persons - IHF President Major Burn-Murdoch, Vice-president C. E. Newham, reporter S. Bhattacharjee - were present at Ballard Pier Mole to say goodbye to us. For years, Ballard Pier was the centre of business activity not just for Bombay, but, for the whole of India. The 13 players in the ship were myself, Broome Eric Pinniger, Shaukat Ali, Richard J. Allen, Dhyan Chand, Maurice A. Gateley, William James Goodsir-Cullen, Leslie C. Hammond, George E. Marthins, Rex A. O. Norris, Michael E. Rocque, Frederick S. Seaman and Kher Singh .
Q : Was there some court case filed in England as the Indians and Anglo-Indian had some dispute ?
No. There was no case. However, some Indians believed that the British Indian team should be comprised mainly of Indian players and if they would fine interference from British ruling management then they will knock the door of court. But they dropped the idea and it was a wise thing as no one can deny the battery of fine sportsmen emerged from Anglo-Indians. The Anglo-Indians are one of India's constitutionally recognized minorities, a microscopic community of combined South Asian and European ancestry that emerged after the arrival of the Portuguese and other Europeans on the subcontinent.
In those days, hit-and-run game was Order of the Day until the Anglo-Indians Smith brothers (A left-in and a goal-keeper) started the concept of short passes in hockey. Smith, who used to play as inside left, explained the idea of short passes before World War I. Without doubt, Anglo Indians did a fine work for hockey and they deserve to be in the Olympics squad. Nine of them were in the 1928 Olympic team and all of them deserved to be in the side.
Q : Who are Anglo-Indians?
A : An Anglo-Indian means a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent, but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not established there for temporary purposes only. Political upheaval and social dislocation at that time forced heavy Anglo Indian migration. Many moved to India.
Q : Was there any revolution when British Indian team participated in 1928 Olympics ?
A : The Amsterdam Games was when Muslims and Hindus players hockey shot into international limelight. That team enthralled the hockey spectators to an exhibition of sheer virtuosity. The British Indian team brought a new brand of hockey. It raised the parameters of hockey skill to a level not seen before.
It also started a new era of total Indian dominance which lasted nearly three decades. During this period, the Indians made hockey a sublime art, dribbling a magic and their short, fluid passes a treat to watch. They dazzled the entire hockey world with their superb artistry and pleasing display. India had become synonymous with hockey. No country had ever ruled an Olympic event with such absolute dominance as India had done in Olympic hockey.
Q : What fans and other country players felt of 1928 Indian team?
We were an unknown quantity in Amsterdam, as British India did not participated in the hockey event of London 1908 and Antwerp 1920 Games, the only time hockey was played as a competitive sport in the Olympics, prior to Amsterdam.
The visit of an Indian Army team to New Zealand in 1926 was the beginning of international hockey for India and that too paved the way for India to earn berth in 1928 Olympics. In that Oceania tour, we played 21 matches including three tests. We won 18 of them and lost one. Goal counts in favor of India was 192-24.