Milkha Singh is best remembered for his fourth-placed finish in the 1960 Rome Olympics when he missed the medal by a fraction of seconds but he was a larger-than-life athlete.
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As a young boy, Milkha Singh knew the value of running. During the gory days of partition, a lot of members of his family were killed. It has been said that Milkha Singh managed to save his life by outrunning a horse on which sat one of the murderers. On that day, Milkha Singh did not realise it. But, his destiny would grace the track and field events and transform India. The impact of partition had decimated the soul for many people and Milkha was no exception.
The after-effects of partition also did not help Milkha Singh. After spending time in Shahdara, New Delhi, Milkha Singh became disenchanted in life. After spending time in Tihar Jail for traveling without a ticket on a train, there were reports that he wanted to become a dacoit. But fortunately better sense prevailed. On advice from a friend-cum-brother, Milkha Singh enlisted in the Army. It was in the Army that his destiny would be forged and India’s greatest sportsman would start his journey.
As a child, Milkha Singh would have to run 10 kms to and from school on a regular basis. It was his running that saved him from being murdered. Now, in the Army, his passion was given direction. Under the disciplined and regimental style of the Army, Milkha was selected by the army for special training in athletics after finishing sixth in a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits. Looking at his skills, Milkha was one of the few to have been selected for further training.
Initially, Milkha would run in the night as there were the Army drills in the morning. But, his superiors noticed his talent and he was given permission to train. In the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a story on his life, there is a scene in which he is training. One of the athletes, who has just finished running, tries to gulp water from a big mug on the bench. He spits it out asking why is the water so salty. The coach, who was overseeing Milkha running, admonishes the other athlete by stating that you could not gulp down Milkha’s sweat! That was the passion and determination Milkha had.
Milkha Singh was selected in the Indian contingent for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. His lack of experience on the major stage was a major impediment as he failed to qualify after the heats. Despite lack of success, a great thing happened to Milkha. Charles Jenkins, the 400m champion from the USA, was impressed by Milkha’s skills and he gave him information on new training techniques. The new techniques worked.
Milkha set records in the 1958 National Games in Cuttack, winning gold in the 200 and 400 meter sprint. That year would be golden for Milkha, winning the Commonwealth Games gold in Cardiff. It would be India’s only individual medal in the Commonwealth Games for over 50 years. In that same year, the Asian Games that were held in Tokyo saw Milkha sweep gold in the 200 and 400 meters.
Having built on the momentum for the 1960 Rome Olympics, Milkha Singh had gotten his training spot on. He kept running, his fitness was at his peak. Prior to the Rome Olympics, there was a contest between India and Pakistan to celebrate their friendship. But, Milkha Singh refused to participate in that event as the scars of partition were still fresh. But, on the persuasion of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Milkha Singh participated against Abdul Khaliq in the 400m race.
It was from that event that Milkha became the ‘Flying Sikh’. In an interview with the Indian Express, Milkha revealed the backdrop. “I realized that Pakistan had actually invited me to see whether I was better than Abdul Khaliq or not. So on the day of the race, there were 7,000 people in the stadium. General Ayub Khan, Pakistan president was there also. When the race started, Abdul Khaliq took the lead. But with 50 metres to the finish line, I caught up with Abdul Khaliq. Even Makhan Singh (India) caught up with him. So not only had I defeated Abdul Khaliq, even Makhan Singh had defeated him. The entire stadium was silent. Later, when General Ayub gave away the medals, he whispered to me in Punjabi: ‘You didn’t run today, you flew’,” Milkha said.
In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Milkha’s great form made him a favorite for a medal. In the 400m category, Milkha started off brilliantly and was leading until the 250-meter mark. Then, a catastrophic misjudgment from Milkha saw his medal opportunity slip. Milkha slowed down in the belief that his pace could not be sustained and he looked around at his fellow competitors.
Milkha believes that these errors caused him to lose his medal opportunity. Otis Davis, Carl Kaufmann and Malcolm Spence all passed him, and a photo-finish resulted. Davis and Kaufman were both timed at a world-record breaking 44.9 seconds. Spence and Milkha went under the pre-Games Olympic record of 45.9 seconds. That record was set in 1952 by George Rhoden and Herb McKenley, with times of 45.5 and 45.6 seconds, respectively.
Milkha became the only Indian to have broken the Olympic record but he ended up finishing fourth. It was the most glorious fourth placed finish by an athlete. His achievements made him one of the finest sportsman to come out of India. Although he participated in the 1964 Olympics, he did not win a medal. In the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, he once again swept the 200 meter and 400 meter races.
After retiring from sprinting, Milkha became Director of Sports in Punjab Ministry of Education. This was a post that he held until 1998. Milkha met Nirmal Kaur, a former captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team in Ceylon in 1955 and they married in 1962. Milkha has three daughters and a son, the golfer Jeev Milkha Singh. In 1999, they adopted the seven-year-old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill.
Even after retiring, Milkha would continue to jog near Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. His fitness and discipline became the motto for India’s aspiring sportsmen to emulate. Jeev Milkha Singh, who became one of India’s finest golfers, spoke about the desire of his father.
“If I were asked to list five of his great qualities, I would say he is honest, focussed and knows his goals. He is determined and is a very disciplined human being. He says if you have achieved one goal, then you should set your eyes on higher goals and continue your drive to do better and better,” Jeev said.
Milkha was awarded the Padma Shri in 1958. Famously, he turned down the Arjuna Award in 2001, arguing that it was intended to recognise young sports people and not those such as him. He also thought that the award was being inappropriately given to people who had little notable involvement as active sports people at all.
Milkha’s death at the age of 91 is a sad day for India and for sports. Thank you for the memories, Flying Sikh!
