'Trained Under Maj. Dhyan Chand, I'm a Former Hockey Player Living in Misery'

I don't have proper meals, and there is no electricity or a bed to sleep on.

Tek Chand Yadav, a former hockey player forced to live in a shanty. 

(Photo: Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

Producer: Varsha Rani
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

Video Inputs: Manish Sharma

I'm Tek Chand Yadav, a former hockey player who lives in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. I was a student of Maj. Dhyan Chand once, and I also represented India internationally in hockey. 

I was a part of the Indian team that defeated Holland (now the Netherlands) in 1961. 

But because of a few circumstances, I am living in a shanty. My wife had tuberculosis and she passed away. My daughter died when she was eight months old.

"Life is just going on; I eat whatever I get, and there is a local kitchen in the town that delivers two times meals to me, and I eat that and survive."

Tek Chand, former hockey player

I'm currently leading my life without proper meals, electricity, or a bed to sleep on.

"All the certificates I had were destroyed either because of the rains that caused leakages in our house or because of termites. Nothing’s left now; none of my certificates or the documents."

Tek Chand Yadav, former hockey player

I left hockey because of the increasing financial pressure on me, and I had a family to support. 

"The situation was such that I was forced to leave hockey. My family’s situation was not that good, so I could not continue playing."

Tek Chand Yadav, former hockey player

'Met Major Dhyan Chand in 1961'

After being inspired by my uncle, I started playing hockey when I was in school.

"In 1960, I met Maj. Dhyan Chand in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. I was one of the players who he trained. He was called here for training, and we used to have practice matches with the army back then. We were advised to take coaching from them as it would help us to train better. He taught us a lot, our game got better."

Tek Chand Yadav, former hockey player

Back in the day, I represented my state Madhya Pradesh at various tournaments.

'Hockey Needs More Recognition'

I want hockey to gain more recognition, and the young players should be given proper coaching.

Hockey is our national game, our treasure, and I hope people realise the importance of this game. The government or the people have never encouraged the players of this country. If they had received good encouragement, we wouldn't have been here.

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