5 Best Moments In Legendary Sprinter Milkha Singh's Life

The legendary sprinter kicked-off his career from a race conducted at an Army camp by leaving behind nearly 400 soldiers and stood a winner 

Legendary sprinter Milkha Singh passes away at the age of 91.

Chandigarh: Milkha Singh, who introduced India to track and field sports, is known for his unflinching grit, resilience and resolve to never give-up due to setbacks. Milkha was born in Govindhpura (Now Pakistan) in 1929 and had to move to Delhi in 1947 during India-Pakistan partition. The legendary sprinter kicked-off his career from an Army cantonment camp by leaving behind nearly 400 soldiers in a race. 

Like someone once said: "There will be setbacks in your way to be champion and you need to rise from ashes to be one." Milkha Singh is apt for this. He is a superstar sprinter who put India on the world map in terms of track and field sprinting. The Captain dominated Indian sprinting scene for over a decade and his records in the field stood for over four decades. Speed was his ally as he was given the title 'The Flying Sikh'.

Here are five best moments in Milkha Singh's career:

1. Milkha Singh is the only Indian to win Gold in Asian and Commonwealth Championship. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour in the country, for his tremendous contribution to the field of sports.
2. The legendary athlete is a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist and is a 1958 Commonwealth Games champion.
3. Milkha Singh is fondly remembered for his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Milkha was leading the charge before he lost momentum. Despite losing the Bronze in a fraction of second (0.1 seconds) he was celebrated, but the sprinting superstar was dejected and even he was admitted that, losing Olympic Bronze was one of his worst memory.
4. The record of the sprinter clocking 45.73 in the 400 metres finals at the 1960 Rome Olympics became the national record and it was unbroken for almost 40 years.
5. In an incredible attempt to display Milkha's struggle which made him legend of the man, Actor Farhan Akhtar in a leading role put it up on silver screen as 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', which became inspirational for many.