Legends never die! This is why Milkha Singh will always be alive in the memories of Indians and in all those budding athletes whom the ‘Flying Sikh’ inspired. The track, to him, was like an open book in which Milkha found the "meaning and purpose of life". And what a life he made for himself. Before his 91-year-old body lost to Covid-19 on June 18 after fighting it for a month, Milkha won the kind of battles that not many would have survived, forget about living long enough to tell the world about them.
Milkha conquered the world of athletics with his grit, determination and resolve to rise from every setback like a phoenix. Thanks to his performances across the globe, Milkha dominated the field of sprinting for more than 10 years, scripting numerous records and winning multiple laurels for the country. His demise, it undoubtedly is the end of an era that saw none come even close to his achievements, let alone match them. A glimpse into the stupendous athletics career of Milkha Singh can be had from this mind boggling fact: his 400 metres Indian national record stood for 38 years and the 400m Asian record for 26 years. In 1960 in Rome, he came closest to winning an individual Olympic Games medal as an Indian, in 400m, eventually finishing fourth in a photo finish.
Interestingly, Milkha broke the existing world record of 45.9 sec in Rome. He finished fourth with a time of 45.6 seconds, as per a hand-held device, while an unofficial electronic timer at the games clocked him at 45.73 sec. This has been a point of contention, though.
The emergence of the ‘Flying Sikh'
Milkha represented India at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Olympics in Rome, and the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He was the first Indian athlete to claim a gold medal in the individual athletics category at the Commonwealth Games before the sprinter's record was broken in 2010. Milkha, who is regarded as one of the world's greatest athletes, defeated Pakistan sprinter Abdul Khaliq in a 200-Metres race to win a gold medal in Tokyo Asian Games. Khaliq was the fastest man in Asia in 1958 and after Milkha defeated him, the Indian sprinter was given the title of "The Flying Sikh".
One of independent India's biggest sporting icons was a tormented man but refused to let that come in the way of accomplishments that were unheard of in his era. He saw his parents being butchered during partition, indulged in petty crimes to survive in the refugee camps of Delhi, went to jail for those, and failed three attempts at joining the Army. Milkha was born in Layalpur, in undivided India, and now in Pakistan. His love for athletics began after he enrolled himself with the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army in Delhi. His talent blossomed while being with the Army. Fortunately for him, his officers encouraged him, and that would have played a role in him winning the 200m and 400m races at a Services Athletics Meet in 1955.
His sporting achievements won him kudos from the Army, and the Indian government awarded him the Padma Shri in 1959. The same year, he was awarded the prestigious Helms Award. Milkha took premature retirement from the Army and took up the post of Deputy Director of Sports with the Punjab government. He got married to Nirmal Kaur, captain of the Indian volleyball team, in 1963.
The couple was blessed with three daughters and a son, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh. It was quite stunning that an athlete of Milkha's stature was offered the Arjuna award, instituted in 1961, only in 2001. He famously turned it down, saying the honour was not of the "stature of the services he rendered to the nation". In 2013, 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,' a film on the legendary sprinter was made to showcase his incredible struggle from being an orphan to becoming one of the greatest athletes of all time. Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar essayed the role of 'The Flying Sikh' in the biographical drama.
