Milkha Singh was an Indian track and field sprinter. He famously known as the Flying Sikh. He became the 1st Indian male athlete to win an individual athletics Gold medal in Commonwealth Games.
Milkha Singh died on Friday 19th June 2021 after a 25 days long battle with COVID-19. The Padma Shri awardee was 91 years of old and survived by his golf player son Jeev Milkha Singh and three daughters.
Find Out Some Interesting Things About Milkha SIngh
Childhood and Early Life
Milkha Singh was from a Sikh Rathore Rajput family in Punjab. He was one of 15 siblings. Indian partition happened when he was still a teenager. He witnessed the killings of his several siblings and parents in front of his eyes. In that time Sikhs and Hindus were targeted and mercilessly killed in Punjab. In 1947 he escaped to Delhi. He was very heart broken and disillusioned after losing so many members of his family and later his brothers advised him to join the Indian Army.
Is Milkha Singh Break World Record in 400m Race?
Milkha Singh had started the race in fantastic fashion. He ruled Commonwealth Games champion in the 440yards.
Did Milkha Singh Run in Pakistan?
After he beat Khaliq and General Yahya Khan at the podium. They famously called him the Flying Sikh. He said, Milkha Singh ji, you didn’t run in Pakistan, you flew. We would like to give you the title as Flying Sikh.
Who is Milkha Singh?
One of India’s greatest athletes and popularly known as the Flying Sikh. Singh won 4 Asian gold medals and finished 4th in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Who Broke Milkha Singh Record in India?
Paramjit Singh broke his 400m national record by clocking at 45.7 sec in 1998, after 38 yrs the Flying Sikh set it in the Rome Olympics.
How many Medals did Milkha Singh Won?
He became a 4 times Asian Games gold medalist and the 1958 Commonwealth Games champion. His greatest performance came at the grandest stage. For many years, India have used to heartbreaks at the Olympic Games.
When did Milkha Singh Join Indian Army?
He joined the Indian Army in 1951 and 4 years after he survived personal losses during the partition. Milkha Singh took to athletics during his Army time and went on to become one of India’s finest athletes.
Milkha Singh Career
1) Milkha Singh 3 times failed to join the army. Finally he got selected in his 4th attempt in 1951.
2) He had the habit of running the 10km distance to reach his school. He have a habit of running which helped him to get 6th in a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits. After that he selected by the Indian army for special training for athletics.
3) He selected to represent India in the 200m and 400m races in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. However, his familiarity with the 400m champion at the event. At that time Charles Jenkins gave him knowledge about proper training methods.
4) Later he participated in the National Games of India in Cuttack in 1958 where he set national records for the 200m and 400m. The same year he won a Gold medal in the 400m competition at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. That makes him the first male Indian to have won an individual athletics gold medal at those Games.
5) In 1958, he won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Tokyo beating the runner Abdul Khaliq from Pakistan.
6) Jawaharlal Nehru convinced him to get over his past and go to Pakistan. Then Milkha once again beat Khaliq in a nail-biting finish.
7) Milkha Singh participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in which he was one of the favorites and he lost.
8) In 198 he became the Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education.
Awards and Achievements
1) In 1958, he won the Gold medals in the 200m and 400m matches at the Asian Games and Gold at the 440 yards event in Commonwealth Games.
2) In 1959, he was given the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.
3) In 1962, he won Gold medals in 400m and 4x400m relay in Asian Games.
4) In 1964, he got 2nd prize in 400 m of Calcutta National Games.
5) His record stood for 56 years.
Unknown Facts About Milkha Singh
1) Milkha Singh used to walk 10 km of distance barefoot every day from his home to a village school in Pakistan.
2) His success in the 1958 Asian Games led to his promotion from a Sepoy to Junior Commissioned Officer in the army.
3) He became a source of wonder at the 1960 Rome Olympics as the Romans had never before seen any athlete like him.
4) He accepted only Rs. 1 for his biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag from producer Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
5) While in the Army, he always trained himself by racing against the meter gauge trains.
6) He was eliminated in the first round of 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
7) He refused to accept the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2001 by saying it came ’40 years too late’.
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