Biographical Facts - Milkha Singh

 

Biographical Facts on Milkha Singh

• v  Milkha Singh missed winning the bronze medal by 0.1 seconds to come fourth in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. 
• v  Milkha Singh, also known as the Flying Sikh, was born on October 17, 1935, in Lyallpur, Pakistan [now Faisalabad], and died in Chandigarh, India, on June 18th, 2021. He became an orphan during the Partition of India and emigrated to India in 1947.
• v  As a young boy who lived in a remote village in Multan province, he saw his parents and seven siblings murdered during the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
• v  As his father fell, his last words were "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", exhorting his son to run for his life.
• The boy ran - first to save his life, and then to win medals.
• v  He started working as a cleaner at a shop for a monthly salary of 10 rupees. He also enrolled in the ninth grade at a school, but did not continue. 
• v  Padma Shri Milkha Singh, known as the Flying Sikh, is the sole athlete to win a gold medal in the 400-meter dash at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Milkha Singh set a national record at the 1960 Olympics, finishing fourth at 400 meters in 45.73 seconds. This record remained unbroken for 40 years.
• v  He was the first Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, a record which remained intact till 2010.
• v  It was in the army that Mr. Singh was first introduced to running as a sport and started his career as an athlete. He would go on to participate in 80 international races, and win 77 of them.
• v  Singh grew up in a small village in what, during his childhood, was still British India.
• v  Singh once told the BBC he used to run six hours every day.
• v  Milkha Singh was awarded the Padma Shri Medal in 1959. His daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, also published an autobiography called 'The Race of My Life' in 2013.