One of India’s greatest athletes, Milkha Singh, who is an inspiration for millions of athletes, has passed away at age 91 due to Covid-related complications. Milkha Singh, also popularly known as “the Flying Sikh” has won four gold medals at the Asian Games.
Also, he set many incredible records in the field. One of them is the 1960s Olympics 400m final, Milkha Singh finished the race in just 45.73 seconds. This national record was unbeaten for nearly 40 years before Paramjeet Singh exceeded it.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, in 1959. His epic life was well portrayed in the Bollywood film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which was released in 2013. Unfortunately, now he is no more with us. Prime Minister Narendra and several other celebrities and sports stars paid tribute to the ace sprinter.
Milkha Singh took his last breath on Friday because of Covid-related complications. He was tested positive for Covid-19 on May 19 when he was in home isolation at his Chandigarh residence after revealing that he was asymptomatic. Later on May 24, he was admitted to the ICU of Mohali’s fortis hospital due to COVID.
On June 3 he was moved to PGIMER in Chandigarh. For a while he was treated with COVID and when the situation became serious. Despite all the efforts by the medical team, Milkha Singh Ji could not be retrieved from his condition. After a brave battle with COVID, his soul left his body at 11.30 pm on 18th June 2021 at PGIMER.
Milkha Singh’s Wife Nirmal Kaur, a former national volleyball captain, also died because of the COVID-19 last Sunday. He is survived by 14-time international winner and golfer son Jeev Milkha Singh and three daughters Mona Singh, Sonia Singh, and Aleeza Grover.
Tributes to Mika Singh flooded social media. The entire country is going through an ocean of grief with his death.
Milkha Singh had a rough past. He was born into a Sikh Rathore family Govindpura, Muzaffargarh in West Punjab. When he was around 15 years old, the partition took place between India and Pakistan. At that time, he was in a small village Kot Addu remote area near Multan. Because of the lack of newspapers and TV, villagers were unaware of the political events leading up to the partition.
A large frenzied mob entered the village and started heavy gunfire that killed many of Mr. Singhs. Milkha Singh stated that he remembered seeing his father fighting bravely until a sword struck him. Then he fell and pleaded with Milkha Singh to run for safety. His father’s last words were “Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag”
Milkha saw his parents and seven siblings murdered in front of his eyes. Which had been a hunting memory for him for many years.
Even after arriving in India as an orphan in 1947, he had experienced many hardships just for survival. Later he found a place in the army where he recognized his gifts and became the world-class sprinter famously known as the “Flying Sikh”.
