19/06/2021
Padhma Sri Flying Sikh's No More....
Some of highlights of his life
*He lost his parents in the riots that followed the Indo-Pak partition
* A 12 year old Milkha escaped for his life and came to India
* He used to walk barefoot 10 km from his village to a school in Kot Addu Tehsil.
*He wanted to join Indian army but was rejected thrice and got selected 4th time. Milkha Singh trained hard during his "fatigue time" (time when jawans do odd jobs) often racing against the meter-gauge trains.
*His first competitive event was a cross-country race where he finished sixth among 500 runners.
*He won gold medals in both the 200m and 400m events at the Asian Games, in 21.6 seconds and 47 seconds respectively in1958
*He won a gold medal in the 400m competition at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games, in 46.16 seconds and became the first gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games from independent India.
*At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he finished second in all of his 400m races prior to the final
*He lost the Bronze Medal in the 400m final event at Rome Olympics Games by just 0.1 seconds in 1960
*Milka Singh sold his Biography to Mehra ( Director and producer of "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag") for just One Rupee and stating that a share of the profits would be given to a charitable trust set up in his name.
*Milkha Singh, refused to accept the Arjuna Award for lifetime contribution, saying that..
“I have been clubbed with sports persons who are nowhere near the level that I had achieved”
For more information watch Bhaag Milkha Bhaag movie
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