Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Legendary India athlete Milkha Singh on Friday night passed away due to COVID-19 related complications at the age of 91.
Milkha is credited with having put Indian athletics on the world map during his storied career. He was a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, 1958 Commonwealth Games champion with his greatest performance being a near miss at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he came agonisingly close to winning a bronze medal in the 400m final.
His on-field achievements got him the sobriquet of ‘The Flying Sikh’.
He contracted covid-19 last month and was admitted to a hospital where he eventually tested negative earlier this week. He showed signs of recovery upon shifting to general ICU but his condition deteriorated.
Sachin Tendulkar posted by quoting- “Rest in Peace our very own ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh ji. Your demise has left a deep void in every Indian’s heart today, but you shall keep inspiring several generations to come.”
Legendary India athlete Milkha Singh on Friday night passed away due to COVID-19 related complications at the age of 91.
Milkha is credited with having put Indian athletics on the world map during his storied career. He was a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, 1958 Commonwealth Games champion with his greatest performance being a near miss at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he came agonisingly close to winning a bronze medal in the 400m final.
His on-field achievements got him the sobriquet of ‘The Flying Sikh’.
He contracted covid-19 last month and was admitted to a hospital where he eventually tested negative earlier this week. He showed signs of recovery upon shifting to general ICU but his condition deteriorated.
Sachin Tendulkar posted by quoting- “Rest in Peace our very own ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh ji. Your demise has left a deep void in every Indian’s heart today, but you shall keep inspiring several generations to come.”
Milkha ran many memorable races in his career. The Flying Sikh, as he is popularly known, is best remembered for his 400m race at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he became the first Indian male to reach the final of an Olympic event. Milkha was leading that race but eventually missed out on a podium-finish after trailing by 0.1 seconds. Despite finishing fourth, Singh set a new national record that remained untouched for 38 years. Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.
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.
Interestingly, 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.” He was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.
