SIR MILKHA SINGH 

                                                        "THE FLYING SIKH"

Milkha Singh (born 17 October 1935) also known as The Flying Sikh ^[1] is a former Indian track and field sprinter. As of 2013, he is the only Indian male athlete to win an individual athletics Gold in Commonwealth Games. He represented India in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Milkha had clocked 45.60 sec in the 1960 Summer Olympics 400m race to finish fourth beaten by Malcolm Spence of South Africa for bronze.^[2][3] He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour for his achievements in Sports. He is married to former captain of Indian Women Volleyball team, Nirmal Kaur.^[4] Despite the lack of an Olympic medal, Milkha Singh's achievements have been hailed because of the circumstances under which he achieved those as well as the lack of infrastructure and resources in independent post-colonial India. ^[5]

Milkha Singh
Singh at Chandigarh Golf Club in 2012

Contents 1 Early Life 2 International career 3 Life after retirement 4 Awards and achievements 5 Civilian Honours 6 References

Early Life

Milkha Singh was born in Lyallpur , British India on 17 October,1935. He lost his parents in the riots that followed the Indo-Pak partition. He wanted to join the Indian Army but was rejected thrice. He finally got in the fourth time after he enrolled in the engineering department. He joined the EME Centre in Secunderabad in 1951. It was here that his talent as an athlete was discovered. His first competitive event was a cross-country race and he finished sixth among 500 runners. In 1953 Singh joined the services after graduating from EME Centre. After joining, Milkha Singh paid special attention towards athletics and begins training for a 400 meters race. In a very short period of time, Singh succeeded in establishing one new record for a 400 meters race, which earned great prestige and fame. ^{[6] [7]}

International career

He represented India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where his inexperience showed. Thereafter, he won gold medals in both the 200m and 400m events at the 1958 Asian Games, clocking 21.6 seconds and 47 seconds respectively. He progressed to win a gold medal in the 400m competition at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games, with a time of 46.16 seconds. This latter achievement made him the first gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games from independent India. ^[8]

Subsequently, he competed in Pakistan and his successes there earned him the nickname of The Flying Sikh. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he finished second in all of his 400m races prior to the final, improving his time on each occasion. In the final event he set off strongly to the fore but was overhauled by the field and finished in fourth place, this being a decision that required a photo-finish. His time was 45.6 seconds and his finishing position was not bettered by an Indian track athlete until the 1984 Olympics, when P.T. Usha missed out on the 400 m hurdles bronze medal by 1/100th of a second. ^[9]

Life after retirement

Post retirement, Milkha Singh holds the appointment of Director of Sports in Punjab. His life story will be the basis of a forthcoming biographical film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, directed by Rakeysh Mehra and starring Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor.^[10]
Milkha Singh has recently penned his autobiography entitled, The Race of My Life with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka, to be published by Rupa & Co., in August 2013.^[11]
On July 12 2013 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will be released. The movie is about his life.

Awards and achievements

• Gold Medal - 1958 Commonwealth Games - 400 m
• Gold Medal - 1958 Asian Games - 200 m and 400 m
• 4th Place - 1960 Summer Olympics
• Gold Medal - 1962 Asian Games

Civilian Honours

• Padma Shri - 1958^[12]