Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929 in Govindpura (now part of Pakistan) and had crossed the border during partition. He lost his parents during the violence that engulfed the partition of India. He was forced to live in refugee camps, before he moved to his sister in Delhi.
13 LESSER KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE FLYING SIKH, MILKHA SINGH
Due to the harrowing and traumatic experience of partition in his childhood, Milkha was inclined to become a dacoit. Singh's brother made him join the Indian Army as a technical jawan. Singh began running since then.
Milkha was once sent to Tihar jail for travelling without a ticket by train. He was bailed after his sister sold off her jewellery.
At the 1958 Asian Games, Singh won both the 200-metre and 400-metre races. Later that year he captured the 400-metre gold at the Commonwealth Games, which was India’s first athletics gold in the history of the Games.
Singh was awarded the Padma Shri (one of India’s highest civilian honours) in 1959.
Singh became the first Indian male to reach the final of an Olympic athletics event when he placed fourth in the 400-metre race at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
His fourth place time of 45.73 the 400 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics became the national record and stood for almost 40 long years.
Singh retained his 400-metre gold at the 1962 Asian Games and also took another gold as part of India’s 4 × 400-metre relay team.
Pakistan's General Ayub Khan bestowed the title ‘Flying Sikh of India’ to Milkha Singh after winning a very publicized race against Abdul Khaliq.
After his retirement he served as the director of sports in Punjab. Singh’s autobiography, The Race of My Life (co-written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka), was published in 2013.
The biography inspired film director Rakesh Mehra to make a biopic on this legend. The Movie has set record at Box Office.
In 1999, Milkha adopted the 7-year-old son of Martyr Bikram Singh who fought in the Kargil War.
The winner of India's first Commonwealth gold, Milkha, declined the government's Arjuna Award in 2001 saying “it came 40 years too late”.
Milkha Singh donated all his medals and sporting treasures to the country, and is now part of the Sports Museum in Patiala.
Milkha Singh passed away due to post-Covid complications on 18 June 2021. He was 91.
Milkha Singh's wife Nirmal, former captain of India women's volleyball team, passed away due to Covid-19 on 13th June 2021. She was 85.
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