Milkha Singh (English: Milkha Singh, born- November 20, 1929; death- June 18, 2021) was a famous Indian sprinter who is known as the Flying Sikh. He participated for the first time in 200 meter and 400 meter race in the Olympic Games held in Melbourne in 1956. Milkha Singh made records in 200 m and 400 m events in the National Games held at Cuttack in 1958. After this, he also won the gold medal in 200 meter and 400 meter race in the Asian Games held in Tokyo in the same year. In the year 1958 itself, in the Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, England, Milkha Singh once again proved his talent and won the gold medal in the 400 meter race. He was the first Indian to win a gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games in independent India at that time.
Milkha Singh was born on November 20, 1929 in a Sikh family in Govindpura (now part of Pakistan). His childhood went through a very difficult period. Milkha Singh lost his parents and several siblings in the riots that followed the partition of India. He had a passion for running since childhood. He used to run the distance of 10 kilometers from his home to school and from school to home. After passing 9th, he got involved in mechanical business and in 1953, he joined the army. While in the army, he took up running and paid special attention to it and started preparations for the 400 meter race.
The story of Milkha Singh getting the title of ‘Flying Sikh’ is very interesting and it is related to Pakistan. Milkha Singh was deeply regretful for missing out on a medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the same year he got an invitation to participate in the International Athlete Competition organized in Pakistan. Milkha had the pain of partition in his mind for a long time and because of the memories associated with that place, he did not want to go to Pakistan. However, later on the persuasion of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he decided to go to Pakistan.
Abdul Khaliq’s name was very famous in athletics in Pakistan at that time. He was considered the fastest runner there. Here Milkha Singh was competing with him. In this race with Abdul Khaliq, the odds were against Milkha and the entire stadium was cheering for its hero but Khaliq could not stand against Milkha’s speed. After the race, Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the then President of Pakistan, named Milkha Singh the ‘Flying Sikh’ and said “Today you have run, not flown. That’s why we give you the title of Flying Sikh”. Since then Milkha Singh became famous all over the world by this name. For his incredible contribution to sports, the Government of India also honored him with ‘Padmashree’, India’s fourth highest honour.
After repeated attempts, Milkha Singh joined the army in 1951. He came sixth in the cross-country race held during recruitment, so the Army selected him for special training in sports. During this time, he discovered his talent as a runner at the EME Center in Secunderabad and his career started from there. Milkha’s passion to become an athlete was so strong that he used to run with a moving train for practice. During this time, many times he would bleed and couldn’t breathe, but still he continued to practice day and night.
In 1956, he participated in the 200 meter and 400 meter race for the first time in the Olympic Games held in Melbourne. As an athlete, his first experience at the international level may not have been good, but this tour proved to be very beneficial for him in the future. During that time, his meeting with world champion athlete Charles Jenkins served as a great inspiration for him in future.
Lakha Singh made records in 200 meters and 400 meters events in the National Games held in Cuttack in the year 1958. After this, he also won the gold medal in 200 meter and 400 meter race in the Asian Games held in Tokyo in the same year. In the year 1958 itself, in the Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, England, Milkha once again proved his talent and won the gold medal in the 400 meter race. He was the first person to win a gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games in independent India at that time. First there were Indians.
After the success in the 1958 Asian Games, Milkha Singh got the post of Junior Commission in the Army. In the 1960 Olympic Games held in Rome, he performed brilliantly in the 400 meter race, but in the final moments, he lagged behind German athlete Karl Kaufmann by one hundredth of a second and missed winning the bronze medal by a small margin. During this, he also broke the previous Olympic record in this race and also created a national record by completing the 400 meter race in 45.73 seconds. His record in 400 meter race was broken after 40 years. Milkha Singh remained India’s greatest Olympian for decades with his stellar performances in the 1960 Rome Olympics and the 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo. In the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, Milkha Singh also won gold medal in 400 meters and 4×400 meters relay race.
Former Indian legend sprinter Milkha Singh passed away during post corona recovery on June 18, 2021 at 11:30 pm. He was 91 years old. Five days ago his wife Nirmal Kaur died due to post Covid complications. Milkha Singh was undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh for 15 days. He was admitted to the ICU on June 3, 2021 due to falling oxygen levels. On May 20, 2021, his Corona report came positive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have paid tribute to Milkha. The Prime Minister said, “We have lost a brilliant player. Milkha had made a special place in the hearts of countless Indians. His personality endeared him to millions of people. Saddened by his demise”.