Milkha Singh biography

Milkha Singh (born between 1929 and 1935),also known as The Flying Sikh, is an Indian former track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He was the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements.

Personal information
Nickname(s)
The Flying Sikh
Nationality
Indian
Citizenship
Indian
Born
November 20, 1929 (age 88)
Govindpura, Punjab, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Residence
Chandigarh, India
Employer
Retired; formerly of the Indian Army and Government of Punjab, India
Spouse(s)
Nirmal Kaur
Sport
Sport
Track and field
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing India
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1958 Cardiff 440 yards
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1958 Tokyo 200 m
Gold medal – first place 1958 Tokyo 400 m
Gold medal – first place 1962 Jakarta 400 m
Gold medal – first place 1962 Jakarta 4 x 400 m relay
National Games of India
Silver medal – second place 1964 Calcutta 400 m
The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games, which he had entered as one of the favourites. He led the race till the 200m mark before easing off, allowing others to pass him. Various records were broken in the race, which required a photo-finish and saw American Otis Davis being declared the winner by one-hundredth of a second over German Carl Kaufmann. Singh's fourth-place time of 45.73 became the Indian national record and held for almost 40 years.

From beginnings that saw him orphaned and displaced during the Partition of India, Singh has become a sporting icon in his country. In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath described Singh as "the finest athlete India has ever produced".In July 2012, The Independent said that "India's most revered Olympian is a gallant loser" and noted the paucity of success at that time — 20 medals — achieved by Indian competitors in the Olympic Games despite the country having a population in excess of one billion.

ahiran Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929 according to records in Pakistan, although other official records various state 17 October 1935 and 20 November 1935.[5] His birthplace was Govindpura, a village 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Muzaffargarh city in Punjab Province, British India (now Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan) in a Sikh Rajput family. 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, Singh lived for a short time with the family of his married sister and was briefly imprisoned at Tihar jail for travelling on a train without a ticket. His sister, Ishvar, sold some jewellery to obtain his release. He spent some time at a refugee camp in Purana Quila and at a resettlement colony in Shahdara, both in Delhi.

Singh became disenchanted with his life and considered becoming a dacoit[b] but was instead persuaded by a brother, 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 new 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".