MILKHA SINGH

June 21, 2021

Milkha Singh died of COVID-19 complications at the age of 91.

About:

Milkha Singh (1929 – 2021) was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army.
Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his autobiography, titled The Race of My Life. It was published in 2013.
He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games.
He then won a gold medal in the 400m (440 yards at this time) competition at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games with a time of 46.6 seconds. This latter achievement made him the first gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games from independent India.
He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
He was also known as The Flying Sikh.
Awards: Singh was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, following his success in 1958. In 2001, he turned down an offer of the Arjuna Award from the Indian government, arguing that it was intended to recognise young sports people and not those such as him.