Milkha Singh - wikipedia Milkha Singh Milkha Singh Milkha Singh at Chandigarh Golf Club in 2012 Nickname ( s ) The Flying Sikh Nationality Indian Citizenship Indian November 20, 1929 ( age 88 ) Govindpura, Punjab, British India ( present - day Punjab, Pakistan ) Residence Chandigarh, India Employer Retired ; formerly of the Indian Army and Government of Punjab, India Spouse ( s ) Nirmal Kaur Sport Sport Track and field Medal record Men 's Athletics Representing India British Empire and Commonwealth Games 1958 Cardiff 440 yards Asian Games 1958 Tokyo 200 m 1958 Tokyo 400 m 1962 Jakarta 400 m 1962 Jakarta 4 x 400 m relay National Games of India 1964 Calcutta 400 m Milkha Singh ( born between 1929 and 1935 ), also known as The Flying Sikh, is a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He was the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He also 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. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India 's fourth - highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements. The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth - place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games, which he had entered as one of the favourites. He led the race till the 200m mark before easing off, allowing others to pass him. Various records were broken in the race, which required a photo - finish and saw American Otis Davis being declared the winner by one - hundredth of a second over German Carl Kaufmann. Singh 's fourth - place time of 45.73 became the Indian national record and held for almost 40 years. From beginnings that saw him orphaned and displaced during the Partition of India, Singh has become a sporting icon in his country. In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath described Singh as `` the finest athlete India has ever produced ''. In July 2012, The Independent said that `` India 's most revered Olympian is a gallant loser '' and noted the paucity of success at that time -- 20 medals -- achieved by Indian competitors in the Olympic Games despite the country having a population in excess of one billion. ahiran Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929 according to records in Pakistan, although other official records various state 17 October 1935 and 20 November 1935. His birthplace was Govindpura, a village 10 kilometres ( 6.2 mi ) from Muzaffargarh city in Punjab Province, British India ( now Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan ) in a Sikh Rajput family. He was one of 15 siblings, eight of whom died before the Partition of India. He was orphaned during the Partition, when his parents, a brother and two sisters were killed in the violence that ensued. He witnessed these killings. Escaping the troubles in Punjab, where killings of Hindus and Sikhs were continuing, by moving to Delhi, India, in 1947, Singh lived for a short time with the family of his married sister and was briefly imprisoned at Tihar jail for travelling on a train without a ticket. His sister, Ishvar, sold some jewellery to obtain his release. He spent some time at a refugee camp in Purana Quila and at a resettlement colony in Shahdara, both in Delhi. Singh became disenchanted with his life and considered becoming a dacoit but was instead persuaded by a brother, Malkhan, to attempt recruitment to the Indian Army. He successfully gained entrance on his fourth attempt, in 1951, and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secunderabad he was introduced to athletics. He had run the 10 km distance to and from school as a child and was selected by the army for special training in athletics after finishing sixth in a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits. Singh has acknowledged how the army introduced him to sport, saying that `` I came from a remote village, I did n't know what running was, or the Olympics ''. Contents 1 International career 2 Later life 3 Family 4 Records and honours 5 References 6 External links International career He represented India in the 200m and 400m competitions of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. His inexperience meant that he did not progress from the heat stages but a meeting with the eventual 400m champion at those Games, Charles Jenkins, both inspired him to greater things and provided him with information about training methods. In 1958, Singh set records for the 200m and 400m in the National Games of India, held at Cuttack, and also won gold medals in the same events at the Asian 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. Before Vikas Gowda won the gold in 2014, Milkha was the only Indian male to have won an individual athletics gold medal at those Games. Singh 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 but the official report of the Games lists the record holder as Lou Jones, who ran 45.2 at Los Angeles in 1956. At those Olympics, he was involved in a close - run final race in the 400m competition, where he was placed fourth. Singh had beaten all the leading contenders other than Otis Davis, and a medal had been anticipated because of his good form. However, he made an error when leading the race at 250m, slowing down in the belief that his pace could not be sustained and looking round at his fellow competitors. Singh believes that these errors caused him to lose his medal opportunity and they are his `` worst memory ''. Davis, Carl Kaufmann and Malcolm Spence all passed him, and a photo - finish resulted. Davis and Kaufman were both timed at a world - record breaking 44.9 seconds, while Spence and Singh went under the pre-Games Olympic record of 45.9 seconds, set in 1952 by George Rhoden and Herb McKenley, with times of 45.5 and 45.6 seconds, respectively. The Age noted in 2006 that `` Milkha Singh is the only Indian to have broken an Olympic track record. Unfortunately he was the fourth man to do so in the same race '' but the official Olympic report notes that Davis had already equalled the Rhoden / McKenley Olympic record in the quarter - finals and surpassed it with a time of 45.5 seconds in the semi-finals. At the 1962 Asian Games, held in Jakarta, Singh won gold in the 400m and in the 4 x 400m relay. He attended the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he was entered to compete in the 400m, the 4 x 100m relay and the 4 x 400m relay. He did not take part in either the 400m or the 4 x 100m relay and the Indian team of Milkha Singh, Makhan Singh, Amrit Pal and Ajmer Singh were eliminated when they finished fourth in the heat stages of the 4 x 400m. There have been claims that Singh won 77 of his 80 races, but these are spurious. The number of races in which he participated is not verified, nor is the number of victories, but he lost a 400m race at the 1964 National Games in Calcutta to Makhan Singh and he did not finish first in any of his four races at the 1960 Olympic Games or the aforementioned qualification races at the 1956 Olympics. Singh 's time in the 1960 Olympics 400m final, which was run on a cinder track, set a national record that stood until 1998 when Paramjit Singh exceeded it on a synthetic track and with fully automatic timing that recorded 45.70 seconds. Although Singh 's Olympic result of 45.6 seconds had been hand - timed, an electronic system at those Games had determined his record to be 45.73. Later life Milkha Singh was promoted from the rank of sepoy to junior commissioned officer in recognition of his successes in the 1958 Asian Games. He subsequently became Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education, from which post he had retired by 1998. 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 recognise young sports people 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 sports people at all. He said that `` I have been clubbed with sportspersons who are nowhere near the level that I had achieved '' and that the award had become devalued. While sharing his wealth of experience in a college in Goa on 25 August 2014, he also said, `` The awards nowadays are distributed like ' prasad ' in a temple. Why should one be honoured when he or she has not achieved the benchmark for the award ? I rejected the Arjuna I was offered after I received the Padma Shri. It was like being offered an SSC certificate after securing a Masters degree. '' All of Singh 's medals have been donated to the nation. They were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi but later moved to a sports museum in Patiala, where a pair of running shoes that he wore in Rome are also displayed. In 2012, he donated the Adidas shoes that he had worn in the 1960 400m final to a charity auction organised by actor Rahul Bose. Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his autobiography, titled The Race of My Life ( 2013 ). The book inspired Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a 2013 biographical film of Singh 's life. Singh sold the movie rights for one rupee but inserted a clause stating that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust. The Trust was founded in 2003 with the aim of assisting poor and needy sportspeople. Family As of 2012, Singh lives in Chandigarh. He met Nirmal Kaur, a former captain of the Indian women 's volleyball team in Ceylon in 1955. They married in 1962. They have three daughters and a son, the golfer Jeev Milkha Singh. In 1999, they adopted the seven - year - old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill. Records and honours 1st 1958 Asian Games -- 200 m 1st 1958 Asian Games -- 400 m 1st 1958 Commonwealth Games -- 440 yards Padma Shri -- 1959 1st 1962 Asian Games -- 400 m 1st 1962 Asian Games -- 4 x 400 m relay 2nd 1964 Calcutta National Games -- 400 m References Notes Jump up ^ There are different records for his birth date. Records in Pakistan note it as 20 November 1929. Other records note it as 17 October 1935 and 20 November 1935. The birthdate has been written as 20 November 1932, on his passport. Jump up ^ Paan Singh Tomar, one of Singh 's contemporaries in the Indian Army and as an athlete, did become infamous as a dacoit. Jump up ^ On Singh 's 1960 victory over Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan, Ayub Khan, then President of Pakistan, told Singh that `` You did n't run today, you flew ''. Jump up ^ The Indian 4 x 100m relay competitors at the 1964 Olympic Games were Anthony Coutinho, Makhan Singh, Kenneth Powell and Rajasekaran Pichaya in both the heats and semi-final, where they were eliminated from the competition. Jump up ^ Promotion in recognition of bringing glory to the nation continues today. Some cricketers attain the rank of honorary colonel and in 2012 Singh was outspoken in his desire to see promotion for Vijay Kumar, who had won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Citations ^ Jump up to : Brijnath, Rohit ( 30 July 2008 ). `` The ' Flying Sikh ' remembers ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Opening week 's action at the Games... and what to expect ''. The Independent. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ Nair, Avinash ( 22 November 2013 ). `` Flashback with the Flying Sikh ''. The Hindu. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 14. ^ Jump up to : `` The XVII Olympiad Rome 1960 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVII Olympiad. pp. 76 -- 80. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. ^ Jump up to : `` The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad. p. 596. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. ^ Jump up to : D'Souza, Dipti Nagpaul ( 23 June 2013 ). `` Will over matter ''. The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 2013 - 07 - 24. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. ^ Jump up to : Koshie, Nihal ( 30 June 2013 ). `` ' If Milkha Singh was born in present times, no one would be able to break his record in 100 yrs ' ''. Indian Express. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 14. ^ Jump up to : Sharma, Aabhas ( 5 July 2013 ). `` India 's first celebrity athlete ''. Business Standard. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Ezekiel, Gulu ( 30 July 2005 ). `` The Flying Sikh 's Exploits ''. The Hindu. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Masih, Archana ( September 2000 ). `` Milkha Singh... on the race of his life ''. Rediff. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` The XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVI Olympiad. pp. 287, 290. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years ''. India Today. Retrieved 2015 - 09 - 11. Jump up ^ Coulter, Michael ( 12 August 2006 ). `` Great sporting Sikhs ''. The Age. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Makhan Singh dead ''. The Hindu. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad. pp. 25 -- 26. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ `` The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad. pp. 48, 50. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ `` The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 -- The Official Report of the Organizing Committee '' ( PDF ). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad. p. 51. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ Bhattal, Amardeep ( 21 January 2002 ). `` Makhan Singh dead ''. The Tribune. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Pritam, Norris ( 6 November 1998 ). `` 38 Year Old Indian Record Falls ''. IAAF. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 17. ^ Jump up to : Kahol, Vikas ( 9 August 2012 ). `` Milkha Singh backs promotion for silver medallist armyman ''. India Today. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Milkha Singh not to accept Arjuna Award ''. The Tribune. 16 August 2001. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Jolly, Asit ( 16 August 2001 ). `` ' Flying Sikh ' snubs award ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Milkha Singh donates Olympic shoes for charity auction ''. The Times of India. PTI. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. ^ Jump up to : `` Milkha Singh gives his 1960 Olympics shoes for charity ''. Mid-Day. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Milkha Singh : ' My God, my religion, my beloved ' ''. Livemint / Hindustan Times. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Farhan Akhtar looked like my duplicate in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag : Milkha Singh ''. Indian Express. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ `` I do n't know how much people know about Milkha Singh : Farhan Akhtar ''. Hindustan Times. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2013 - 07 - 14. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Picks Up Well on Day One ''. Box Office India. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Ramnath, Nandini ( 1 July 2013 ). `` When Milkha Singh ran for his life ''. Livemint / Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` The Race of My Life : An Autobiography ''. Rupa Publications. Archived from the original on 2013 - 07 - 12. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ Bhunga, Jagdeep ( 22 August 2013 ). `` Miserable family of Makhan Singh de-motivate youth to go for sports ''. Spot News India. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 08. External links Milkha Singh at Sports Reference `` Transcript of a webchat ''. Rediff. 22 August 2001. `` Video of Singh in the closing stages of the 440 yards ( 400m ) race, 1958 British Empire & Commonwealth Games ''. IBN. `` How India 's ' Flying Sikh ' went from orphan to gold medallist ''. Witness. BBC News. 10 January 2017. Commonwealth Champions in Men 's 400 m 1930 -- 1966 : 440 yards 1970 -- present : 400 metres 1930 : Alex Wilson ( CAN ) 1934 : Godfrey Rampling ( ENG ) 1938 : Bill Roberts ( ENG ) 1950 : Edwin Carr ( AUS ) 1954 : Kevan Gosper ( AUS ) 1958 : Milkha Singh ( IND ) 1962 : George Kerr ( JAM ) 1966 : Wendell Mottley ( TRI ) 1970 -- 1974 : Charles Asati ( KEN ) 1978 : Rick Mitchell ( AUS ) 1982 : Bert Cameron ( JAM ) 1986 : Roger Black ( ENG ) 1990 : Darren Clark ( AUS ) 1994 : Charles Gitonga ( KEN ) 1998 : Iwan Thomas ( WAL ) 2002 : Michael Blackwood ( JAM ) 2006 : John Steffensen ( AUS ) 2010 : Mark Mutai ( KEN ) 2014 : Kirani James ( GRN ) Asian Games champions in men 's 200 metres 1951 Lavy Pinto ( IND ) 1954 Muhammad Sharif Butt ( PAK ) 1958 Milkha Singh ( IND ) 1962 Mani Jegathesan ( MAL ) 1966 Mani Jegathesan ( MAS ) 1970 Anat Ratanapol ( THA ) 1974 Anat Ratanapol ( THA ) 1978 R. Gnanasekharan ( IND ) 1982 Jang Jae - keun ( KOR ) 1986 Jang Jae - keun ( KOR ) 1990 Susumu Takano ( JPN ) 1994 Talal Mansour ( QAT ) 1998 Koji Ito ( JPN ) 2002 Shingo Suetsugu ( JPN ) 2006 Shingo Suetsugu ( JPN ) 2010 Femi Ogunode ( QAT ) 2014 Femi Ogunode ( QAT ) Asian Games champions in men 's 400 metres 1951 Eitaro Okano ( JPN ) 1954 Kanji Akagi ( JPN ) 1958 Milkha Singh ( IND ) 1962 Milkha Singh ( IND ) 1966 Ajmer Singh ( IND ) 1970 Yoshiharu Tomonaga ( JPN ) 1974 Wickremasinghe Wimaladasa ( SRI ) 1978 Abbas Laibi ( IRQ ) 1982 Susumu Takano ( JPN ) 1986 Susumu Takano ( JPN ) 1990 Mohammed Al - Malki ( OMA ) 1994 Ibrahim Ismail Muftah ( QAT ) 1998 Sugath Thilakaratne ( SRI ) 2002 Fawzi Al - Shammari ( KUW ) 2006 Hamdan Al - Bishi ( KSA ) 2010 Femi Ogunode ( QAT ) 2014 Yousef Masrahi ( KSA ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milkha_Singh&oldid=815300865 '' Categories : Living people Indian male sprinters Olympic athletes of India Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Indian Sikhs Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Asian Games gold medalists for India Punjabi people Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics ( track and field ) Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1958 Asian Games Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1962 Asian Games People from Muzaffargarh District Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes ( track and field ) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from August 2017 Use British English from January 2014 Pages using Infobox sportsperson with unknown parameters Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2012 All articles containing potentially dated statements Year of birth missing ( living people ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote অসমীয়া Deutsch Français ગુજરાતી हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം मराठी Nederlands नेपाली ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Português Русский संस्कृतम् தமிழ் తెలుగు اردو Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 14 December 2017, at 01 : 18. 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Question: in which year did milkha singh win the first national title in the 400 metre race
Answer: 1960