Remembering Milkha Singh: A Look Back at Legendary Sprinter’s Achievements

Image Source: The Indian Express

Milkha Singh, byname the Flying Sikh, (born October 17, 1935, Lyallpur [now Faisalabad], Pakistan), Indian track-and-field an athlete who became the first Indian male to reach the final of an Olympic athletics event when he placed fourth in the 400-meter race at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Orphaned during the partition of India, Singh moved to India from Pakistan in 1947. He eked out a living by working in a roadside restaurant before joining the Indian army. It was in the army that Singh realized his abilities as a sprinter. After winning the national trials in the 200-meter and 400-meter sprints, he was eliminated during the preliminary heats for those events at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

At the 1958 Asian Games, Singh won both the 200-meter and 400-meter races. Later that year he captured the 400-meter gold at the Commonwealth Games, which was India’s first athletics gold in the history of the Games. He narrowly lost the bronze medal in the 400 meters at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, missing out on a third place in a photo finish. 

Singh retained his 400-meter gold at the 1962 Asian Games and also took another gold as part of India’s 4 × 400-meter relay team. He made a final Olympic appearance at the 1964 Tokyo Games as part of the national 4 × 400 teams that failed to advance past preliminary heats.

Singh was awarded the Padma Shri (one of India’s highest civilian honors) in 1959. 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 Sonia400-meter, British India (now Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan). 

He 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 in the violence that ensued. He witnessed these killings.

Escaping the troubles in Punjab, where killings of Hindus and Sikhs were continuing, by moving to Delhi, India, in 1947, co-written at a resettlement colony in Shahdara, both in Delhi.

Singh became disenchanted with his life and considered becoming a dacoit but was instead persuaded by one of his brothers, Malkhan, to attempt recruitment to the Indian Army. He successfully gained entrance on his fourth attempt, in 1951, and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secunderabad he was introduced to athletics. 

He had run the 10 km distance to and from school as a child and was selected by the army for special training in athletics after finishing sixth in a compulsory cross-country run for recruits. Singh has acknowledged how the army introduced him to sport, saying that “I came from a remote village, I didn’t know what running was, or the Olympics”

Image Source: NBC News

Media and popular culture

Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his autobiography, titled The Race of My Life. It was published in 2013. The book inspired Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a 2013 biographical film of Singh’s life. The film is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and stars Farhan Akhtar in the lead role, with Divya Dutta and Sonam Kapoor in pivotal roles. 

The film was widely acclaimed in India and won awards including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the National Film Awards, and 5 awards at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2014. The film made over ₹100 crores. Singh sold the movie rights for one rupee but inserted a clause stating that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust.

In September 2017, Singh’s wax statue – created by sculptors of Madame Tussauds in London – was unveiled at Chandigarh.

Later life

Singh was promoted from the rank of sepoy to junior commissioned officer in recognition of his successes in 1958 Asian Games. He subsequently became Director of Sports in Punjab Ministry of Education, a post he retired from in 1998.

All of Singh’s medals have been donated to the nation. They were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi and later moved to a sports museum in Patiala, where a pair of running shoes that he wore in Rome are also displayed. In 2012, he donated the Adidas shoes that he had worn in 1960 400m final to be sold in a charity auction organized by actor Rahul Bose. 

Singh was admitted to the intensive care unit at Fortis Hospital in Mohali on 24 May 2021 with pneumonia caused by COVID-19. His condition was, for a while, described as stable, but he died on 18 June 2021 at 11:30 pm IST. His wife, Nirmal Saini, had died a few days earlier on 13 June 2021, also due to COVID-19.

You can easily access the audiobook of his autobiography from Amazon: The Race of My Life

Written By – Violet Priscilla S

Edited By - Anamika Malik