Milkha Singh - The Flying Sikh

  MILKHA SINGH- THE LIVING LEGEND
Here I am With This Blog And The Topic Made It Clear,This Time This Blog Is Dedicate To The One Of The Greatest Indian Athletes Ever Produce In India, His Contribution Towards Our Nation Pride All Over The World Can't Be Describe In Simple Words But His Works For Our Nation Greatest Proud Moments is The Greatest Thing That Was Happened. I Will Try My Best To Justify His Contribution.He Is The Greatest Athlete Ever,His Life,His Awards,His Medals , All Was The Inspiration For The Youngsters Of All Over The World. His Power-Concentration-Dedication For His Works And His Love For His Work And For Nation Can't Be Deniable,He Is The Living Legend India Ever Produced.We Can All Get Inspired By His Life If We Learnt Lessons From The Life Of Milkha Singh Sir
Milkha Singh Biography
Milkha Singh is a former Indian track and field sprinter. The “Flying Sikh” was born in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 20 November 1929, according to records in Pakistan; whereas other reports say he was born on 8 October 1935. He is the only male athlete of India to win individual athletics Gold in the Commonwealth Games. Milkha Singh was also awarded the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 1959 for his achievements in sports. Singh is best remembered for his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at Olympic Games 1960.
Milkha Singh, 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

Basic Details Of Milkha Singh - The Flying Jatt
  • Born: 20 November 1929 (age 89 years), Govindpura, Pakistan

  • Spouse: Nirmal Saini (m. 1962)
  • Other Name: The Flying Sikh
  • Books: The Race Of My Life
  • Siblings: Ishvar Singh, Malkhan Singh
  • Children: Jeev Milkha Singh,Sonia Sanwalka

Personal Life
Milkha Singh is married to Nirmal Kaur. She was the former captain of the Indian Women Volleyball team. They have a son, Jeev Milkha Singh, who has gone on to become a top-ranking international professional golfer.
Who did Milkha Singh marry?
Nirmal Saini
Who is the son of Milkha Singh?
Jeev Milkha Singh
Family Relatives and Relation
See given below celebrity profiles about Milkha Singh's family, relatives;
In all, he has 15 siblings. He married former Indian Volleyball player Nirmal Kaur Saini in the year 1962. The couple together has three daughters and a son named Jeev Milkha Singh, who is a golfer. His one another son Vikram Singh (Havildar) who was adopted by him in 1999 has died in the "Battle of Tiger Hill".

What is Milkha Singh best remembered for?
He is the only male athlete of India to win individual athletics Gold in the Commonwealth Games. Milkha Singh was also awarded the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 1959 for his achievements in sports. Singh is best remembered for his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at Olympic Games 1960.

Career
Milkha Singh tried to enroll in the army, but was rejected thrice. He was finally able to join in the army’s electrical mechanical engineering branch in 1952. Once in the armed forces, his coach Havildar Gurdev Singh inspired him. He worked very hard on his practice. He came into the limelight during the National Games at Patiala in 1956. In 1958, he broke the 200 metres and 400 meters records in the National Games at Cuttack.
His greatest and probably the saddest moment came when he finished fourth in a photo finish at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He also represented the country in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He held the Olympic 400 m record in the 1960 Rome Olympics, besides winning the Gold medal in the 1958 Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games in 1958 (in the 200m & 400 m categories) and the Asian Games in 1962 (in 200 m category).

It was a race in Pakistan in 1962, where he defeated Abdul Khaliq, the winner of the 100 metres gold at the Tokyo Asian Games, where he was christened the ‘The Flying Sikh” by the Pakistani President Ayub Khan.
Later Life
In recognition of Singh’s successes in the 1958 Asian Games, he was promoted from the rank of sepoy to junior commissioned officer. He eventually became the Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired in 1998. Singh’s medals were donated to the country. Initially all of those were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, but later they were shifted to a sports museum in Patiala. At the sports museum, his pair of shoes are displayed, which he wore in Rome. In 2012, Rahul Bose organised a charity auction where Singh donated the pair of Adidas shoes that he wore in the 1960 400m final.

In Recent Media Interview:-
Milkha Singh’s life story was portrayed in a biographical film, “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, which was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and starred Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor. When asked Milkha Singh why he allowed a film to be made on his life, he said that the film should be an inspiration to the youngsters and he himself would watch the film and see his life’s events have been depicted correctly or not. He wanted youngsters to watch this movie and join athletics, making India proud by winning medals at the world level.
Records, Awards and Honours
  • 1st 1958 Asian Games in 200 m
  • 1st 1958 Asian Games in 400 m
  • 1st 1958 Commonwealth Games in 440 yards
  • Padma Shri in 1959
  • 1st 1962 Asian Games in 400 m
  • 1st 1962 Asian Games in 4 x 400 m relay
  • 2nd 1964 Calcutta National Games in 400 m

Born into a Sikh Rathore family in Govindpura, Muzaffargarh in West Punjab, Milkha Singh is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest athletes. His forefathers, who were originally from Rajasthan, were ironsmiths. His father was a farmer with a small land holding. Partition separated Mr. Singh from both his family and home, forcing him to forge his own path. His story is also captured in the film ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’.

‘Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag’
Milkha Singh was around 15 years old at the time of Partition. His village, Kot Addu, was located in a remote area near Multan. No newspapers reached the village, and the villagers were unaware of the political events leading up to partition. The only way they received news was when someone travelled to the closest city to buy goods.
But inter-community relations were strong. People lived in harmony. Mr. Singh studied in a mosque alongside students of different faiths. At the time, kabaddi and wrestling were popular sports.

When Mr. Singh’s father fell, he pleaded with his son to run for safety: “Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag.”

When a large frenzied mob arrived on the village’s outskirts, families stuck together to protect one another. A local leader tried negotiating with the mob, but he was shot.

Before dawn the next morning, the mob entered the village. There was heavy gunfire that killed many. Mr. Singh tried hiding. He remembered seeing his father fight bravely until he was struck by a sword. When Mr. Singh’s father fell, he pleaded with his son to run for safety: “Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag.”

Mr. Singh escaped from his village to a forest nearby, where he spent the entire night. He believed he had lost his whole family. Early next morning, he boarded a train to Delhi, and with the help of the passengers, hid in the women’s compartment.

He arrived at the Old Delhi station on platforms covered in refuse. Cholera was rumored to be spreading. Mr. Singh, along with thousands of refugees, lived in the station for nearly three weeks. He then learned that his sister was still alive through lost and found announcements made over loudspeakers at the station.

He reunited with his sister, and they moved to the refugee camp in Purana Qila.

The trying times made Mr. Singh resourceful. He scouted around for petty jobs, and 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. But life was far from easy; once, Mr. Singh was arrested for traveling without a railway ticket. His sister had to sell her jewelry to pay for his bail.

The Flying Sikh
  • Shortly after, Mr.Singh learned that the army was recruiting and had set up an office in Old Delhi. He applied and was rejected three times. Finally, with some help from his brother who was already in the army, he got selected in 1952.
  • 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. But it was his victory at the Commonwealth games in 1958 that catapulted him to fame.
  • When he was invited to an Indo-Pak Sports Meet, he was reluctant to attend. He was worried that memories of Partition would make the visit painful. However, he was finally convinced to participate.
  • Returning to Punjab, visiting his village and meeting his childhood friend were tumultuous experiences. But it was at this race that Mr. Singh was given the title, ‘The Flying Sikh.’
  • This was in Kot Addu where it had all begun. Back when he was in the fifth grade, well before Partition, Mr. Singh had enrolled in a school that was 10 kilometres from Kot Addu. Every day, he and his friend would run barefoot to and from school, across long stretches of sand. During the months of May and June, the sand was scorching. But this experience -- Mr. Singh believed -- helped him build his stamina at an early age.
69 years later
  • Mr. Singh met his wife in Ceylon and they got married in 1962. The couple now lives in Chandigarh. Mr. Singh would like to visit Kot Addu again.
  • Mr. Singh shares that he has cried three times in his life: most recently, when he saw the Bollywood biopic on him; when he did not win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics; and when he saw his family killed.
This interview was conducted by The 1947 Partition Archive staff Prakhar Joshi.
Shocking / Interesting Facts & Secrets About Milkha Singh:-
  • He released his autobiography titled, ‘The Race of My Life’ in 2013.
  • He sold his biographical movie ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ rights for one rupee and had half of the movie’s profit given to Milkha Singh Charitable Trust.
  • He donated all of his medals to the nation, which are on display at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
  • Milkha Singh also donated a pair of shoes that he had worn during his race at the 1960 Olympics for a charity.
  • He adopted a 7-year-old boy of a soldier who died during the Battle of Tiger Hill.
  • His wax statue is unveiled at Chandigarh which was created the sculptors of London's Madame Tussauds in September 2017.

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