Let’s know about Milkha Singh Biography, Age, education, parents, wiki, date of birth, family, wife, young pics, sister, girlfriend, marriage and childhood pics, Net Worth, Father, Mother, Brother, career.
Milkha Singh (20 November 1929- 19 June 2021), also called The Flying Sikh, won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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Milkha Singh Biography, Birth and Childhood
Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929 into a Sikh family in Govindpura, which is now a part of Pakistan, and he was one of 15 siblings, eight of whom died before the Partition of India. He was orphaned during the Partition Milkha Singh was introduced to the sport only after he had fled to India post the partition and joined the Indian Army.
Milkha Singh Career
He represented India in the 200m and 400m competitions of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Milkha was persuaded by Jawaharlal Nehru to set aside his memories of the Partition era to race successfully in 1960 against Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan, where a post-race comment by the then General Ayub Khan led to him acquiring the nickname of The Flying Sikh. Some sources say that he set a world record of 45.8 seconds in France, shortly before the Rome Olympics in the same year.
Singh had been awarded the Padma Shri 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 recognize young sportspeople and not those such as him. He also thought that the Award was being inappropriately given to people who had little notable involvement as active sportspeople at all.
Milkha Singh Family, Daughter, Son
Milkha met Nirmal Kaur, a former captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team in Ceylon in 1955 and then in 1962 they got married and now have 3 daughters and 1 son, the famous golfer Jeev Milkha Singh. Later in the year 1999, they adopted the seven-year-old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill.
Milkha Singh familyBetty cuthbert with Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh Daughter Sonia Sanwalka
Milkha Singh’s daughter Sonia Sanwalka wrote The Race of My Life: An Autobiography: A Poetic Journey.
Milkha Singh’s daughter Sonia Sanwalka
Milkha Singh Death Reason or Cause
Milkha Singh died due to post-COVID complications and before he was shifted out of COVID Hospital to medical ICU. He was admitted to the Covid ward in the Nehru Hospital Extension at PGIMER on June 3 due to low oxygen levels.
in centimeters– 178 cm
in meters– 1.78 m
in feet inches– 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)
in kilograms– 70 kg
in pounds– 154 lbs
Eye Colour
Brown
Hair Colour
White
Career
International Debut
In the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Coach/Mentor
Gurdev Singh, Charles Jenkins, Dr. Arthur W Howard
Records/Awards/Honours
• Won a Gold at the 1958 Asian Games – 200 m.
• Won a Gold at the 1958 Asian Games – 400 m.
• Won a Gold at the 1958 Commonwealth Games – 440 yards.
• Honoured with Padma Shri in 1959.
• Won a Gold at the 1962 Asian Games – 400 m.
• Won a Gold at the 1962 Asian Games – 4 x 400 m relay.
• Won a Silver at the 1964 Calcutta National Games – 400 m.
Personal Details
Date of Birth
• 20 November 1929 (according to records in Pakistan)
• 17 October 1935 and 20 November 1935 (other official records of various States)
Age
92 Years
Birthplace
Govindpura, Muzaffargarh city, Punjab Province, British India (now Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan)
Death Cause or Reason
Scorpio
Nationality
Indian
Hometown
Chandigarh, India
School
A village School in Pakistan
College
Did not attend
Educational Qualification
Studied at a village school in Pakistan up to 5th standard
Family
Father– Name Not Known Mother– Name Not Known Siblings– Ishar (sister), Makhan Singh (eldest brother) & 12 More
Religion
Sikhism
Address
#725, Sector 8 B, Chandigarh
Hobbies
Playing Golf, Walking, Doing Work-outs
Controversies
• In 1998, when Paramjeet Singh broke Milkha Singh’s 38-year-old 400 m record, Milkha disowned his record and said, “I do not recognize this record.” Milkha’s primary objection was Paramjeet’s timing of 45.70. At the Rome Olympics, Milkha was officially hand-timed at 45.6 though an unofficial electronic timer at the games clocked him at 45.73. Years later electronic timers were installed at all international events. It was accepted that 0.14 seconds would be added to all hand timings to compare them with electronic timings. So, Milkha’s hand-timed 45.6 was converted into an electronic time of 45.74. Either way, Paramjeet’s timing was better, but Milkha was unmoved and said: “My record of 45.6 still stands. If timing is registered it is there. You cannot change it after some years.”
• In 2016, he had some heated exchange of words with Salim Khan (father of Salman Khan). The story behind the row was the appointment of Salman Khan as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the Rio Olympic Games. The sports fraternity including Milkha Singh and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt had questioned the appointment. In a bid to defend Salman, Salim Salim tweeted: “Milkhaji it is not Bollywood it is the Indian Film Industry and that too the largest in the world. The same industry which resurrected you from fading away in oblivion.” In reply to this, Milkha said, “It’s okay they have made a film on me. I don’t think that the movie industry has made a favour to me by making a film on my life. “If they have any function, will they put any sportsmen as their chairman or ambassador?” He further said: “It doesn’t make sense to appoint someone in this role. If an ambassador is required, we have many great sportspersons, like Sachin Tendulkar, P.T. Usha, Ajitpal Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.”
Relationships
Marital Status
Married
Affairs/Girlfriends
Betty Cuthbert (An Australian Athlete)
Wife/Spouse
Nirmal Kaur (former captain of Indian Women Volleyball team);she died of COVID-19 on 13 June 2021.
Mr. Singh shares that he has cried three times in his life: most recently, when he saw the Bollywood biopic on him; when he did not win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics; and when he saw his family killed.
Three days before the carnage that devastated Milkha’s life, he was sent to Multan to take the help of his eldest brother, Makhan Singh, who was then serving in the army. On the train to Multan, he sneaked into the ladies compartment to hide under a seat as he feared being killed by murderous mobs.
By the time Milkha returned along with his brother Makhan, rioters had turned their village into a cremation ground. Many dead bodies including Milkha’s parents’, 2 brothers’ and their wives’ could not even be recognized.
After around 4 or 5 days of the incident, Makhan boarded his wife Jeet Kaur and brother Milkha in an army truck headed for India. They were dropped at the Ferozepur-Hussaniwala area.
In search of work, he often visited the local army camps and at times, he would often polish shoes to get food.
A lack of job opportunities and floods forced Milkha and his sister-in-law to shift to Delhi. They traveled to Delhi sitting on the roof of a train.
As there was no place to stay in Delhi, they spent a few days at the Railway platforms. Later, they discovered that his sister-in-law’s parents had settled in a locality called Shahdara in Delhi.
Milkha felt suffocated at his sister-in-law’s house as it was proving to be burdensome for him. However, a slice of relief for Milkha came when he discovered that one of his sisters, Iswar Kaur, was living in a locality nearby.
As there was nothing to do for Milkha, he started spending his time on the streets and in the process, he fell in bad company. He started watching movies, and to buy tickets, he started gambling and stealing along with other boys.
Soon, his eldest brother Makhan Singh got his posting in India at the Red Fort. Makhan took Milkha to a nearby school and got admitted him in 7th standard. However, Milkha could not cope with his studies, and again, he fell into bad company.
In 1949, Milkha and his friends thought of joining the Indian Army and went for recruitment to the Red Fort. However, Milkha was rejected. He again gave a try in 1950 and was again rejected. After being rejected twice, he started working as a mechanic. Later, he got a job in a rubber factory where his salary was 15 INR/month. However, he couldn’t work for long as he suffered a heat stroke and remained bed-ridden for 2 months.
In the November of 1952, he got a job in the Army with the help of his brother and was posted to Srinagar. From Srinagar, he was sent to EME (Electrical Mechanical Engineering) unit of the Indian Army at Secunderabad. In January 1953, he finished 6th in a six-mile (approximately 10 km) cross-country race.
Milkha ran his first-ever-400m race in 63 seconds at a Brigade Meet and finished 4th. When Milkha was asked if he would be able to run the 400m race, his first reaction was – “How long is 400m?” He was then informed by a former athlete, Gurdev Singh, that 400m accounted for one round of the track.
Milkha started practicing 400m race on his own, and in the process, sometimes, blood would ooze out of his nostrils. Milkha was selected to participate in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. However, he lost in the initial rounds.
Milkha created history when he bagged India’s first gold at the Commonwealth Games in 1958 at Cardiff. He gives credit for this victory to his American Coach, Late Dr. Arthur W Howard.
He released his autobiography titled, ‘The Race of My Life’ in 2013.
He sold his biographical movie ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ rights for one rupee and had half of the movie’s profit given to Milkha Singh Charitable Trust.
He donated all of his medals to the nation, which are on display at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Milkha Singh also donated a pair of shoes that he had worn during his race at the 1960 Olympics for a charity.
He adopted a 7-year-old boy of a soldier who died during the Battle of Tiger Hill.
His wax statue is unveiled at Chandigarh which was created by the sculptors of London’s Madame Tussauds in September 2017.
