Here's Why 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh Is One Of The Finest Athletes India Ever Produced

India lost one of its best athletes on Friday night after Milkha Singh lost a prolonged battle with illness due to COVID-19 complications.

One of India's biggest sporting icons, Milkha Singh faced many adversities. He witnessed his parents' deaths who were killed during partition, got involved in petty crimes to ensure his survival in refugee camps in Delhi and even failed thrice in joining the Army.

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'Flying Sikh'

The title of the Flying Sikh came in 1960. The then Pakistan President, Ayub Khan, had invited Indian athletes for an Indo-Pak sports meet in Lahore.

Back then Milkha didn't want to go to Pakistan as it would invoke his painful memories during Partition. However, on the insistence of then India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Milkha went to Pakistan leading the Indian contingent.

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In the 200-metre race, Milkha was pitted against Pakistan's Abdul Khaliq, who was one of the fastest in the world in 200-m sprint.

Milkha eventually defeated Pakistan's Khaliq. After seeing his run, Pakistan's President Ayub Khan gave Milkha the nickname 'Flying Sikh' for his impressive run.

Medals galore

The legendary athlete was a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist and the 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance was a near miss, the fourth place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years and he was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.

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But more than anything else, Milkha was the one who put Indian athletics on the world map by winning the gold in the then 440 yards race of the 1958 British and Commonwealth Games.

He became the first Indian athlete to win an individual gold in a Commonwealth Games, which led to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declaring a national holiday on his request.

77 wins out of 80 races

Milkha put his career record at 77 wins out of 80 races. He also claimed to have bettered the 'Olympics record' of that time in a race in France, but with sketchy records available, it is difficult to confirm just like his actual date of birth which is officially November 20, 1929.

Lost the 'race of his life'

He lost the race of his life in the Rome Olympics, finishing the 400m final in 45.6 seconds, 0.1 second short of the bronze medal mark.

Hard to believe but he had slowed down in a colossal error of judgement as he wanted to preserve himself for the final 150m.

He remained tormented by that miss, one of the only two incidents in his life, which he described as unforgettable -- the other being the killing of his parents in Pakistan.

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"The one medal I had yearned for throughout my career had just slipped through my fingers because of one small error of judgement," Milkha wrote in his 160-page autobiography that coincided with the release of a blockbuster biopic on his life 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'.

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Unfulfilled dream

Another one of his unfulfilled dream was to see another Indian do what he couldn't, bring home a track-and-field Olympics medal.

Early life

A self-proclaimed village 'bumpkin' from the undivided Punjab's Govindpura, Milkha's run for a better life started as a 15-year-old when he escaped from Pakistan to Delhi after witnessing a bloodbath that claimed his parents during the partition.

His approach to life in the refugee camp was irreverent. He worked as a boot polish boy, a shop cleaner near the old Delhi Railway Station and in between stole goods from trains to make ends meet.

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The petty crimes landed Milkha in jail and he was bailed out by sister Ishvar, who sold her jewellery to get him released.

Milkha tried to step up in life by making repeated attempts at joining the army. He got through on his fourth attempt in 1952 and that proved to be the turning point which he so desperately wanted and needed.

He was posted in Secunderabad and ran his first race -- a cross country of five miles -- there when army coach Gurdev Singh promised an extra glass of milk to those who finished inside top-10.

He finished sixth and later got selected for special training in 400m. The rest, as they say, is well-documented history.

Retired in 1964

Milkha retired from athletics after the 1964 Olympics, two years after winning the gold in 400m and 4x400m relay events at the Asian Games held at Jakarta.

Marriage

He got married to Nirmal Kaur, captain of the Indian volleyball team, in 1963. They met for the first time in 1956 in Sri Lanka when they were there for their respective national duties.

The couple was blessed with three daughters and a son, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh and what a fine successor to his legacy he turned out to be, becoming India's highest ranked golfer at the peak of his prowess.

Refused Arjuna award

It was quite stunning that an athlete of Milkha's stature was offered the Arjuna award, instituted in 1961, only in 2001.

He famously turned it down, saying the honour was not of the "stature of the services he rendered to the nation".

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Milkha's contribution to the Indian sporting history will never be forgotten as we have lost a gem of an athlete.