Milkha Singh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Milkha Singh

Singh in 2012
Personal information
Nickname(s)	The Flying Sikh
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1929-11-20)20 November 1929 Govindpura, Punjab, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 91) Chandigarh, India
Occupation	Athlete
Employer	Retired; formerly of the Indian Army and Government of Punjab, India
Spouse(s)	Nirmal Saini ​ ​ (m. 1963; died 2021)​
Military career
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	1951–1964
Rank	Honorary Captain
Awards	Padma Shri
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprinting
Medal record Men's Athletics Representing  India British Empire and Commonwealth Games Gold 1958 Cardiff 440 yards Asian Games Gold 1958 Tokyo 200 m Gold 1958 Tokyo 400 m Gold 1962 Jakarta 400 m Gold 1962 Jakarta 4 × 400 m relay National Games of India Gold 1958 Cuttack 200 m Gold 1958 Cuttack 400 m Silver 1964 Calcutta 400 m

Milkha Singh (born November 20, 1929 – died June 18, 2021) was a famous Indian track and field runner. People knew him as The Flying Sikh. He became a sprinter while serving in the Indian Army.

Milkha Singh is the only athlete to win gold medals in the 400 meters at both the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. He also won more gold medals at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He proudly represented India in the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960, and 1964. For his amazing sports achievements, he received the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian awards.

One of his most famous races was the 400 meters final at the 1960 Olympic Games. He was a favorite to win. He led for the first half of the race but then slowed down, letting others pass him. He finished fourth, missing a medal by a tiny fraction of a second. His time of 45.73 seconds was an Indian national record for nearly 40 years.

Milkha Singh faced many challenges early in his life. He became an orphan and lost his home during the Partition of India. Despite this, he became a national sports hero. In 2008, a journalist called him "the finest athlete India has ever produced."

Milkha Singh passed away on June 18, 2021, at age 91, due to complications from COVID-19. His wife, Nirmal Saini, had also died from COVID-19 just five days before him.

Early Life and Challenges

Milkha Singh was born on November 20, 1929. His family were Sikhs from a village called Govindpura in what was then British India. This area is now part of Pakistan. He was one of 15 children, but many of his siblings died young.

During the Partition of India in 1947, terrible violence broke out. Milkha Singh's parents, a brother, and two sisters were killed. He saw these tragic events happen. He managed to escape to Delhi, India, to find safety.

Life in Delhi was hard. He lived with his married sister for a short time. He was even briefly held in Tihar jail for traveling on a train without a ticket. His sister, Ishvar, sold some jewelry to help him get out. He also spent time in refugee camps.

Milkha Singh felt lost and considered joining a group of bandits. However, his brother, Malkhan, convinced him to try joining the Indian Army instead. He tried four times before finally being accepted in 1951.

Discovering Running in the Army

While in the army, Milkha Singh discovered his talent for running. As a child, he used to run 10 kilometers to and from school every day. This early experience helped him. The army held a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits. Milkha Singh finished sixth, which was good enough for the army to select him for special athletics training.

He later said that the army changed his life. "I came from a remote village," he explained, "I didn't know what running was, or the Olympics." The army gave him the chance to become a world-class athlete.

International Competitions

Milkha Singh first represented India at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. He competed in the 200m and 400m races. He was still quite new to international sports and did not make it past the first rounds. However, he met Charles Jenkins, who won the 400m gold medal. This meeting inspired Milkha Singh and taught him new training methods.

Winning Gold Medals

In 1958, Milkha Singh broke records in the 200m and 400m at the National Games of India in Cuttack. He also won gold medals in the same events at the Asian Games. Later that year, he won a gold medal in the 400m (then called 440 yards) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. His time was 46.6 seconds.

This made him the first athlete from independent India to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. He was the only Indian man to win an individual athletics gold at these Games until 2014.

The Flying Sikh Nickname

In 1960, India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, asked Milkha Singh to race against Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan. This was a special event to help improve relations between the two countries after the Partition. Milkha Singh won the race. After his victory, General Ayub Khan of Pakistan called him "The Flying Sikh." This nickname stuck with him forever.

The 1960 Rome Olympics

Milkha Singh was expected to win a medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was in great form. In the 400m final, he made a mistake. He was leading the race at 250 meters but slowed down, thinking he couldn't keep up the pace. He also looked around at his competitors. He believes these errors cost him a medal.

Three other runners passed him: Otis Davis, Carl Kaufmann, and Malcolm Spence. A photo-finish was needed to decide the winners. Davis and Kaufmann both set new world records. Milkha Singh finished fourth, just missing a medal. His time of 45.6 seconds was an Olympic record, but he was the fourth person to achieve it in that same race. This race became his "worst memory."

Later International Races

At the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Milkha Singh won two more gold medals. He won the 400m race and was part of the winning 4 x 400m relay team.

He also went to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was supposed to run in the 400m and two relay races. However, he only competed in the 4 x 400m relay. The Indian team finished fourth in their heat and did not advance.

Some people claim Milkha Singh won 77 out of 80 races. However, this number is not officially confirmed. He did lose some important races, including a 400m race at the 1964 National Games to Makhan Singh. He also did not win any of his four races at the 1960 Olympics.

His 400m time from the 1960 Olympics, 45.6 seconds, was a national record for India for almost 40 years. It was finally broken in 1998 by Paramjit Singh.

Life After Running

After his success at the 1958 Asian Games, Milkha Singh was promoted in the army. He later became the Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired from this job in 1998.

Awards and Recognition

Milkha Singh received the Padma Shri award in 1959. In 2001, he turned down the Arjuna Award from the Indian government. He felt it was meant for younger athletes, not for someone like him. He also believed the award was being given to people who hadn't achieved much in sports. He said the award had lost its value.

He explained his decision in 2014, saying, "The awards nowadays are distributed like 'prasad' in a temple. Why should one be honoured when he or she has not achieved the benchmark for the award?"

Milkha Singh donated all his medals to the nation. They were first displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Later, they were moved to a sports museum in Patiala. His running shoes from the 1960 Rome Olympics are also displayed there. In 2012, he donated another pair of his 1960 Olympic shoes for a charity auction.

Final Days

Milkha Singh was admitted to the hospital on May 24, 2021, with pneumonia caused by COVID-19. He passed away on June 18, 2021, in Chandigarh. His wife, Nirmal Saini, had died just five days earlier, also from COVID-19. He was buried with a photo of his wife in his hands.

Milkha Singh in Media

Milkha Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, wrote his autobiography called The Race of My Life. It was published in 2013. This book inspired a movie about his life.

The film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, was released in 2013. It was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Farhan Akhtar played Milkha Singh in the movie. The film was very popular in India and won many awards. Milkha Singh sold the movie rights for just one rupee. He asked that some of the profits go to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust. This Trust helps poor and needy sportspeople.

In September 2017, a wax statue of Milkha Singh was unveiled in Chandigarh. It was made by sculptors from Madame Tussauds in London. The statue shows him running, like when he won at the 1958 Commonwealth Games. It is now at the Madame Tussauds museum in New Delhi.

After winning India's first track and field gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra dedicated his victory to Milkha Singh.

Family Life

Milkha Singh lived in Chandigarh. He met Nirmal Saini, who was the captain of the Indian women's volleyball team, in 1955. They got married in 1962. They had three daughters and a son, Jeev Milkha Singh, who became a famous golfer. In 1999, they adopted a seven-year-old boy whose father had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill.

Records and Awards

Awards

Honours

Images for kids

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  The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu presenting the Punjab University Khel Rattan Award to Padma Shri Milkha Singh.

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  Singh at a marathon event

See also

In Spanish: Milkha Singh para niños