At 93, the Battle of Tokyo still lives in Dharam Singh Mann’s memory

Action from the 1964 Olympic final between India and Pakistan JALANDHAR: Dharam Singh Mann may have put down his hockey stick decades ago, but his passion for the game remains undiminished. At the age of 93, one of Punjab’s oldest surviving links to the golden era of Indian hockey, Mann played in the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the team that won the bronze at the 1968 Mexico Games. He vividly remembers the bruises, battles and handcuffs that shaped his journey.As Jalandhar, the heart of Indian hockey, hosted the opening rounds of the Asian Champions Trophy, Mann served as a poignant reminder of the illustrious heritage that the sport must cherish and pass on to future generations.Mann, a former Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) with the Punjab Police, began his journey at the village plot where his father’s first hockey stick was. “I took his stick and waited for my turn outside the village ground. The day I got my first chance, there was no looking back,” he told TOI.Mann’s international journey gained momentum with the 1963 Lyon International Hockey Tournament in France, a key warm-up event for the Tokyo Olympics. He also suffered a broken jaw after being hit by an opponent’s stick. He recalls the care he received from hockey legend Udham Singh, who brought him homemade desi ghee-bone broth and fed him for days as he recovered.The memories of the 1964 Olympic final against Pakistan refuse to fade despite their age. As old rivals set their sights on Indian spinner Harbinder Singh, Mann and teammates Prithipal Singh and Gurbax Singh were determined not to let the intimidation go unanswered. “We told him the game wasn’t over yet. We challenged them on the field like it was a war,” he recalled with a smile. India eventually prevailed, winning the Olympic gold.While visiting an elementary school in Japan, Mann was struck by children who, instead of talking about what they wanted to be, asked what they could do for their country. He believes that this sense of collective responsibility has been central to Japan’s sporting success, and he has carried that lesson over to hockey and the Punjab police.