Milkha Singh Biography: Age, Death, Family, Career, Records, Awards and Honours and more
Milkha Singh Biography: He was popularly known as "the Flying Singh". He succumbed to post COVID-19 complications on Friday (18 June, 2021) night after a month-long battle with the virus. On May 20, he had tested positive for the virus and was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali on May 24.
On May 30 he had been discharged before he was admitted to the COVID ward at the Nehru Hospital Extension. His wife, Nirmal Kaur, a former India volleyball captain, also died with COVID-19 earlier this week.
Earlier this week on Thursday, he was tested negative and was shifted to the medical ICU. On Friday evening his condition deteriorated and developed complications including fever and dipping oxygen saturation levels. He breathed his last at PGIMER on June 18.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the athlete, who has been described as independent India's first sporting superstar.
Date of Birth: 20 November 1929 (According to records in Pakistan), 17 October, 1935 (Other official records)
Place of Birth: Gobindpura in Muzaffargarh district now in Pakistan
Profession: Athlete
Date of Death: 18 June, 2021
Place of Death: PGIMER, Chandigarh
Cause of Death: COVID-19
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): Sprinting
Milkha Singh: Personal Life
He was also known as the Flying Sikh. He was an Indian track and sprinter who was introduced into the sport while serving the Indian Army. He was born in a village Gobindpura in the Muzaffargarh district now in Pakistan in undivided India. His ancestors hailed from Rajasthan. He was the second youngest child of his parents and would lose half of his 14 siblings due to poor health and lack of medical care. His childhood spent in poverty.
During the partition of India, he was orphaned and moved to India from Pakistan in 1947. Before joining the Indian army, he eked out a living by working in a roadside restaurant. In the Indian army, he realized his abilities as a sprinter. He was married to Nirmal Kaur. She was the former captain of the Indian Women Volleyball team.
Milkha Singh: Career
He joined the army after three times facing rejection in the army’s electrical mechanical engineering branch in 1952.
His coach Havildar Gurdev Singh inspired him in the armed forces. He practiced and worked hard. During the National Games at Patiala, he came into the limelight in 1956.
He broke the 200 metres and 400 meters records in the National Games at Cuttack in 1958.
The saddest moment came when he finished fourth in a photo finish at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he represented the country. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, he held the Olympic 400m record, 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.
In 1962, in a race in Pakistan, he defeated Abdul Khaliq, the winner of the 100 metres gold at the Tokyo Asian Games. He was christened the ‘The Flying Sikh” by the Pakistani President Ayub Khan.
Milkha Singh: Later Life
Due to his success in the 1958 Asian Games, he was promoted from the rank of sepoy to junior commissioned officer. He subsequently became Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired in 1998 from the post.
His medals were donated to the country. Initially, the medals were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi but later they were shifted to a sports museum in Patiala
Rahul Bose organized a charity auction in 2012, where Singh donated the pair of Adidas shoes that he wore on the 400m final in 1960.
Milkha Singh: Autobiography, Media and Popular Culture
His autobiography, The Race of My Life (co-written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka), was published in 2013.
His life story was portrayed in a biographical film, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag". It was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and starred Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor.
His wax statue that was created by sculptors of Madame Tussauds in London was unveiled at Chandigarh in September 2017.
Milkha Singh: Records, Awards and Honours
| Event | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1958 Asian Games | 200 m |
| Gold | 1958 Asian Games | 400 m |
| Gold | 1958 Commonwealth Games | 440 yards |
| Gold | 1962 Asian Games | 400 m |
| Gold | 1962 Asian Games | 4X400 m relay |
| Silver | 1964 Calcutta National Games | 400 m |
Awards & Honour
- Padma Shri in 1959.
- He was bestowed with the lifetime achievement award at the second edition of the Indian Sports Honours.
Currently, his mortals are kept at his Chandigarh residence. Today at 5 pm, the cremation will reportedly take place in Chandigarh with full state honours.
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