Rajesh Chauhan, a former hockey player himself, led the rally, which also included former women's team captain Pritamrani Thakran and former internationals Sandeep Shaukeen, Ajay Saroha and Vivek Gupta.

The group also delivered a memo to the office of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to speed up the process of giving three-time Olympic champion Chand the award and said they plan to continue staging demonstrations across the country over the issue.

"The next rally is planned from Amritsar to Delhi," Chauhan said.

Today's rally follows on from one earlier this month that was led by Chand's son Ashok Kumar, also a former hockey player.

Calls for Dhyan Chand to receive the Bharat Ratna came after former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first sportsperson to be granted the honour ©AFP/Getty Images


Calls for Chand, who is widely considered as the greatest hockey player of all time, to receive the Bharat Ratna came after former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first sportsperson to be granted the honour last November.

The Indian Sports Ministry has also recommended Chand, whose birthday is an annual sports day in the nation, for the title.

As well as helping India secure gold medals at the Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932 and Berlin 1936 Games, Chand scored more than 1,000 goals in a career spanning 22 years from 1926 to 1948.

He died in 1979 aged 74.

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