New Zealand Again
Gopalan was a high-caste Hindu from the South, where orthodoxy was severe. Gopalan joined us the next day in Madras after being purified of all sins, and we all had a good joke at his expense.
Autobiography of Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand
Published by Sport & Pastime, Chennai, 1952
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New Zealand Again | Of the team members, M. J.
Gopalan was also a test cricketer. On our return from New Zealand, Gopalan
broke journey at Rameswaram to have a dip in the holy waters to wipe off
the sin of crossing the seas.
Gopalan was a high-caste Hindu from the South, where orthodoxy was severe. Gopalan joined us the next day in Madras after being purified of all sins, and we all had a good joke at his expense. |
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December 1934, the Indian Hockey Federation decided to send a team to New
Zealand in the new year. I was with my regiment, and one fine morning I read in
the papers that I was selected in the team for New Zealand.
I felt happy as I was very keen to see New Zealand once again. The prospect of another trip to the Southern Hemisphere thrilled me. There had been talks of an Indian hockey team visiting New Zealand since 1931. We almost visited that Dominion in 1932 on our way to the Los Angeles Games, but I do not know why that tour fizzled out.
Whenever I think of the New Zealand tour of 1935, I feel very sad over the passing away of a fine hockey player Mohammad Naim. He was the baby of the team in 1935, and played as No. 2 back to Gopalan. After his return from New Zealand, Naim settled in Kolkata and proved himself a fine all-rounder, going on to play first class hockey, football and cricket in Kolkata.
I heard about three or four years ago that Naim had suddenly passed away in Lahore, leaving behind a young wife. A sportsman was taken away from us at a young age. He was a very popular boy in New Zealand with us.
The 1935 team for New Zealand was composed mostly of youngsters, whose names were little known in hockey circles. I was first a bit nervous as to how we will fare with such a raw team, which had the following members:
Later on the selectors' choice was justified in a way, as from this team the following players were chosen for the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Mohammad Hussain, M. N. Masood, Shahabuddin and Peter Fernandes. Messrs. Behram Doctor and Pankaj Gupta were our managers for the New Zealand tour. With the Nawab of Manavdar declining the invitation to play in the team, the mantle of captaincy fell on me.
Of the team members, Gopalan was also a test cricketer. He is presently in Madras, and I am glad he is taking an interest in the game even today. I will never forget that on our return from New Zealand, Gopalan broke journey at Rameswaram to have a dip in the holy waters to wipe off all the sins he had committed by crossing the seas.
Gopalan was a high-caste Hindu from the South, where orthodoxy was severe. Gopalan joined us the next day in Madras after being purified of all sins, and we all had a good joke at his expense.
We played a total of 48 matches on this tour, with 28 in New Zealand and the remainder in India, Ceylon and Australia. In these 48 matches, India scored 584 goals with only 40 goals against us.
It was a grand tour inasmuch as we won all the 48 matches that we played, of which I played in 43 matches, and scored 201 goals. Mind you, on the rain-sodden uneven grounds in New Zealand and Australia, it was no joke to score goals. The grounds in New Zealand were a severe handicap to our style of play. A through pass or dash or sprint down the line were not easy to do. Most of the time we had to resort to scoops because of the muddy surface of the grounds.
To travel in New Zealand in the winter, and to play hockey in the biting cold, at times with intermittent rain, was a great strain, but the kindness and hospitality of our hosts made us forget all the climatic disadvantages, and we did the best that we could.
In my opinion, the 1935 Indian tour of New Zealand did a great deal of service to our country. The triumphal march of the Indian team right from Auckland in the north point of North Island to Invercargill in the south point of South Island made India known to a country where she was more or less unknown before.
There were a few Indian settlers in New Zealand, particularly in North Island. They were largely from Gujarat, and mainly carried on the fruit trade. These Indians were very kind to us, and in their company at times we felt that we were in India.
Hockey Fans with Dhyan and Roop Singh before the 1935 tour of NZ and Australia