Milkha Singh

Milkha Singh (2012)

Milkha Singh ( Panjabi ਮਿਲਖਾ ਸਿੰਘ ; born October 17, 1935 in Lyallpur , then British India , now Pakistan ) is a former Indian sprinter .

biography

Milkha Singh was born into a Sikh family in the western part of Punjab . When India was partitioned , this part of Punjab became part of Pakistan. Singh's parents, a brother and two sisters were murdered by a Muslim mob in the subsequent violent unrest. He himself was able to flee, hide in a train in the women's compartment and so ended up in India. In India he later joined the army and there his athletic talent was recognized and promoted.

At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 , he was eliminated over 200 m and 400 m in the preliminary run.

In 1958 he won gold over 200m and 400m at the Asian Games in Tokyo and gold over 440 yards at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff . Singh was the first Indian to win a gold medal in the track and field disciplines and became a national hero and sporting role model.

At the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 , he finished fourth over 400 m with his personal best of 45.6 s, just 0.1 s behind third Malcolm Spence .

In 1962 he defended his 400m title at the Asian Games in Jakarta . At the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, he was eliminated in the 4 x 400 meter relay with the Indian team in the preliminary run.

In 1958 he was awarded the Padma Shri . He married the volleyball player Nirmal Kaur; her son Jeev Milkha Singh is a successful professional golfer.

In 2013 his life was filmed biographically in the sports drama "The course of his life - the Flying Sikh" (original "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"). Farhan Akhtar played the main role.

Web links

• Milkha Singh: The Flying Sikh , portrait in Sada Punjab
• Short biography at Indian Sports News
• Milkha Singh in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} How India's 'Flying Sikh' went from orphan to gold medalist. BBC News, January 10, 2017, accessed January 10, 2017 .