India mourns the demise of one of its greatest athletes, Milkha Singh. Singh succumbed to Covid-related complications, aged 91, on June 18. His wife, Nirmal Kaur, a former volleyball captain, also died with Covid earlier this week, aged 85. The athlete had contracted Covid-19 last month and died of complications from the disease in a hospital in the northern city of Chandigarh late on Friday.
In the year 1960, the then Pakistan President, Ayub Khan, had invited Indian athletes for an Indo-Pak sports meet in Lahore. Milkha Singh did not wish to go back to Pakistan as he had fierce and terrible memories of the India-Pakistan partition. But, he went as the leader of the Indian contingent on the insistence of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
In Lahore, Milkha was to face off against Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq, who was considered to be one of the fastest in the world in the 200m sprint. It was a matter of national pride, and losing to Pakistan was not an option. So there was a lot of pressure. But on the race day, the pressure did not seem to matter for Milkha as he came up with the trumps and defeated Khaliq easily. After being impressed with his run, President Khan named Milkha Singh as the Flying Sikh during the medal ceremony.
Singh went on to win four Asian gold medals and finished fourth in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
In 2013, his story was turned into the Biopic – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, who played the role of the late sprinter in his biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, paid his tribute to the athlete and wrote: “Dearest Milkha ji, a part of me is still refusing to accept that you are no more. Maybe it’s the stubborn side I inherited from you.. the side that when it sets its mind on something, just never gives up.“
- Singh was one of 15 siblings, eight of whom died before the Partition of India. He was orphaned during the Partition when his parents, a brother, and two sisters were killed by Muslim mobs in the violence that ensued which he witnessed himself. Due to the harrowing and traumatic experience of partition, Milkha was inclined to become a dacoit.
- Milkha was once sent to Tihar jail for traveling without a ticket in train. He was bailed after his sister, Ishvar, sold off her jewelry.
- Persuaded by a brother, Malkhan, Milkha Singh joined the Army as a technical jawan with a salary of Rs. 39, and 8 annas.
- His fourth-place time of 45.73 the 400 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics became a national record and stood for almost 40 long years.
- Milkha Singh donated all his medals and sporting treasures to the country and is now part of the Sports Museum in Patiala.
- The winner of India’s first Commonwealth Gold, Milkha Singh, declined the government’s Arjuna Award in 2001 saying “it came 40 years late”.
- Milkha Singh adopted the 7-year-old son of Martyr Bikram Singh who fought in the Kargil War.
Thank you for being an inspiration. You will forever live in our hearts.