Milkha Singh Biography | About, Wiki, Birth, Age, Death,Personal Life, Family, Wife, Children, Sister, Career, Awards, Records,Honour, Interesting Facts, Books, Movie and Casts, Net Worth, News
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About Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh was popularly known as Flying Sikh born on 20 November (1929 – 18 June 2021) according to Pakistan records and 17October, 1935 according to other official records. He was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport when he was also serving in our Indian Army.
Milkha Singh Wikipedia
Milkha Singh was known for his achievement as he became the only athlete to win gold medal in 400 metres race at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games as well the Common wealth Games. He also represented India in various Olympics Summer Olympics in Melbourne in 1956, Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960, and the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964. He became the first Indian male athelete to reach the final of an Olympic when he secured fourth rank in the 400-metre race at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 with record of of 45.73 seconds which was the Indian national record for almost 40 years.
| Name | Milkha Singh |
| Nick Name | The Flying Sikh |
| Birth Date | 20 November (1929 – 18 June 2021) according to Pakistan records and 17October, 1935 according to other official records. |
| Birth Place | Govindpura, Punjab, now it is a part of Pakistan. |
| Died | 18th June, 2021 |
| Death Place | PGIMER, Chandigarh |
| Death Cause | Covid-19 |
| Age | 91 |
| Profession | Indian track and field sprinter |
| Education | Studied upto 5th grade in village of Pakistan |
| Permanent Address | #725, Sector 8B, Chandigarh |
| Books | 'The Race of Life' his autobiography |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Spouse | Nirmal Kaur former captain of Indian Volleyball team she died of Covid-19 on 13th June. |
| Children | Mona Milkha Singh Sonia Sanwalka, Aleeza Grover and a Son Jeev Milkha Singh who is a Golfer. |
| Hobbies | Playing golf, Walking and doing Workouts |
Milkha Singh Age, Birth and Death
According to Wikipedia, Milkha Singh was born in a Sikh family on 20th November, 1929 according to Pakistan records and 17 October, 1935 according to other accounts, in Govindpura, Punjab, now it is a part of Pakistan.
Milkha Singh age
Milkha Singh died at the age of 91 years.
Milkha Singh death
Milkha Singh died on 18th June 2021 after a long battle from Covid-19 at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Last month, he was diagnosed of Covid-19 and died of severity of the disease in a hospital in the northern city of Chandigarh. Milkha Singh died after couple of days after being tested negative and after being shifted out of the Covid ICU.
Milkha Singh Early life
Milkha Singh was born in a Rajput Sikh family in Govindpura a village distanced 10 km from Muzaffargarh city in Punjab of undivided British India (presently called as Muzaffargarh District Pakistan). He was one of 15 siblings, out of them eight 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 during the partition. He witnessed these killings. He became Orphaned and moved to India from Pakistan in 1947.
Milkha Singh Family Tree
Milkha Singh Wife
Milkha Singh was married to Nirmal Milkha Singh who also died due to Covid-19 at age of 85 just 5 days ago before his death.
Milkha Singh Children
He has total four children 3 daughters and 1 son.
Milkha Singh Daughter
Milkha Singh has 3 daughters name as Mona Milkha Singh who is a doctor in New York city and she has been attending emergency patients of Coronavirus, Sonia Sanwalka who is a writter and also co-written autobiography of Milkha Singh 'The Race of my Life' and Aleeza Grover.
Milkha Singh Son
Milkha Singh has 1 son name as Jeev Milkha Singh who is a Golfer.
Jeev Milkha Singh
Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian ace golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He won four events on the European Tour and became the most successful Indian on tour. He became the first Indian golfer to get the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2006. The Government of India also awarded him with the most prestigious civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2007. Jeev Milkha Singh wife name is Kudrat Singh.
Gurbinder Singh is the adopted son of Milkha Singh. Gurbinder was seven years old when Milkha Singh visited co visited Kubaheri village with his wife Nirmal Milkha Singh on the bhog ceremony of Gurbinder's father Havildar Bikram Singh, who lost his life in the battle of Tiger Hill in the Kargil war in 1999.
The Milkha couple adopted Gurbinder that day and looked after his education till high school. As Milkha Singh and and Nirmal Kaur died due to Covid-19, Gurbinder Singh is in grief for the loss of his family. He gave the statement that he felt he lost his father once again.
Milka Singh Siblings
Milkha Singh sister named as Ishwar Singh.
Milkha Singh eldest brother named as Makhan Singh & Milkha Singh had 12 more brothers.
Milkha Singh Love Life
Milkha Singh First Love Story
Milkha Singh Girlfriend
In the 1956 Olympics, Betty had won three gold medals and also won Mikha’s heart. They had again met in 1960 and she was not doing well.
After that Milkha Singh had tried to get back again in touch with Betty when he was in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games in 2006, but their story had a tragic ending. Milkha had further recalled:
“I called her home and her son picked up the phone. As I introduced myself, he recognised me. He said she was no more. She had been suffering from blood cancer. The boy told me that they still keep the turban I gifted her, as a souvenir.”
Betty Cuthbert
Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017) was an Australian athlete and a Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's Golden Girl. She set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Betty Cuthbert represented Australia in relay teams by winning in the 4×100 metres, 4×110 yards, 4×200 metres and 4×220 yards.
Cuthbert had an unique running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open. She was named in 1998 an Australian National Treasure and was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.
Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur had first met in 1955 in Colombo, Srilanka when they both were attending a tournament there. In Colombo, an Indian businessman had called the athletics team and volleyball for a casual meeting and that was the point where Milkha Singh had met Nirmal Kaur for the first time, the ultimate love of her life. At that time Nirmal Kaur was the captain of the women's volleyball team and Milkha Singh was a part of the athletics team.
Milkha fell in love with Nirmal Kaur as it was love at first sight for him. They both had good interaction with each other for long hours. According to some source, at that place he could not find paper so, Milkha Singh had written his hotel’s number on Nirmal Kaur’s hand.
They again met later in 1958, and subsequently their love story had begun in 1960, when the they met at Delhi’s National Stadium and that time Milkha Singh was a huge name.
Milkha Singh married to Nirmal Kaur
Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur’s affair had started became popular in headlines and they decided to spend the rest of their lives together. Well, Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur had also faced many difficulties in making their parents accept their relationship and it was accepted when the Chief Minister of Punjabi at that time, Mr Pratap Singh helped them and was also known as anry Chief Minister and talk with their respective families.
Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur had tied the knot in 1962, and even though has an age gap of 9 years, the both had spent their lives together for 59 long years.
Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur's life after marriage
After their wedding, Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur had shifted to Chandigarh from Delhi in 1963 and had worked in the Punjab sports department till they had retired in the 1980s.
According to the The Indian Express in 2019,
Nirmal had shared that Milkha Singh was so gentle that he always used to open the door of the car for her even after so many years of their wedding.
Milkha Singh best gift to Nirmal Kaur
When Nirmal Kaur was asked what was the best gift that Milkha Singh gave her ; She replied:
“Since the day we got married, Sardar ji has always opened the door of the car for me whenever we go and this has remained the same for every single day of our married life. The same is true for our children and grandchildren. If we talk of the biggest gift given by him to me, it is the lines which he wrote in his autobiography: ‘I have many trophies but the biggest trophy for me has been my wife Nirmal Milkha Singh.”
Milkha Singh introduced his wife Nirmal Kaur in a beautiful manner
Milkha Singh introduced Nirmal Kaur as his wife to his mentor, Dr Arthur W Howard at the Chandigarh Golf Club in 2007 in the most beautiful manner. He had said: “Meet my sweetheart wife, who is my heartbeat.”
Nirmal Kaur on Milkha Singh
According to Indian Express in 2019,
Nirmal Kaur had revealed in an interview in 2019 how she had idolised Milkha Singh and how every day for them was like Valentine’s Day after the marriage. She had also said:
“Not many know that I come from a Hindu family. I idolised Milkha Singh ji and it was he who convinced my father Mehar Chand Saini to marry me off to him. My father was an educated man and he wanted me to marry a truthful and simple man, which Milkha Singh ji was. By God’s grace we have completed 55 years of marriage and every day is like Valentine’s Day for us.”
Milkha Singh on Nirmal Kaur
Milkha Singh had written his autobiography, The Race Of My Life released in 2013 that Nirmal Kaur is devoted wife and a mother. He had written: “Nimmi is a devoted wife and mother. I am still amazed by how efficiently she manages her personal and professional life without letting either of them suffer.”She raised our children almost single handedly. I couldn’t study beyond matriculation, but my children are all highly educated, thanks to my wife. My daughter Mona Singh is a doctor who specialises in emergency medicine.”
Milkha Singh Career and Life Achievements
| Records | International Games and Category |
|---|---|
| Gold | 1958 Asian Games in 200 m at Tokyo |
| Gold | 1958 Asian Games in 400 m at Tokyo |
| Gold | 1958 Commonwealth Games in 440 yards at Cerdiff |
| Gold | 1962 Asian Games in 400 m at Jakarta |
| Gold | 1962 Asian Games in 4X400 m relay at Jakarta |
| Fourth Rank | 1960 Olympic Games in 400 metre race at Rome |
Milkha Singh National Records and Medals
| Records | National Games and Category |
|---|---|
| Gold | 200 m race in 1958 at Cuttack |
| Gold | 400 m race in 1958 at Cuttack |
| Silver | 400 m race in 1964 at Calcutta |
He also made records in 1958, Milkha Singh set records for the 200m and 400m in the National Games of India, held at Cuttack. Milkha Singh won first gold medal for 200 m and 400m in 1958 Asian Games at Tokyo. After that, he won his 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 and put the Indian athletics on the word map and made every Indian feel proud.
Milkha Singh was known for his achievement as he became the only athlete to win gold medal in 400 metres race at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games at Tokyo and Jakarta respectively as well the 1958 Common wealth Games at Cerdiff. He also represented India in various Olympics Summer Olympics in Melbourne in 1956, Summer Olympics at Rome in 1960, and the Summer Olympics at Tokyo in 1964. He became the first Indian male athelete to reach the final of an Olympic when he secured fourth rank in the 400-metre race at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 with record of 45.73 seconds which was the Indian national record for almost 40 years.
His coach Havildar Gurdev Singh motivated him in the armed forces. When he played National Games at Patiala in 1956 , he was acknowledged by many. Milkha Singh gained entrance in Indian Army after his fourth attempt, in 1951 at Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secunderabad he also showed his interest toward athletics and was selected by the army for special training in athletics. Milkha Singh always acknowledged the army that it was the army who introduced him to sport by his saying that "I came from a remote village, I didn't know what running was, or the Olympics."
Milkha Singh Lost Olympic
Has Milkha Singh won any Olympics?
No, Milkha Singh could not win any Olympics but he was selected for finals in 1960 Rome Olympics.
Why Milkha Singh could not win the 1960 Rome Olympics?
The saddest moment came for all the Indians when he secured fourth rank and lose bronze medal due to lack of only 0.1 sec in a photo finish at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome in 400-metre race with record of of 45.73 seconds which was the Indian national record for almost 40 years. It was known as saddest movement because he was the first male athelete to reach the final of Olympics.
He also became the only athlete to win gold medal in 400 metres race at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games as well the Common wealth Games. He also represented India in various Olympics Summer Olympics in Melbourne in 1956, Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960, and the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964.
Milkha Singh Nickname
How Milkha Singh got this nickname 'The Flying Sikh'?
In 1962, when he defeated Pakistani sprinter Abdul Khaliq in a race, the winner of the 100 metres gold at the Tokyo Asian Games, he was commented as "The Flying Sikh" by the Pakistani President Ayub Khan and then officially he was nicknamed as flying Sikh.
Milkha Singh Ranks and Honours
Captain Milkha Singh was awarded by most prestigious award of the country known as Padma Shri, fourth-highest India's civilian honour given to him in recognition of his all iconic sporting achievements in1959. He was ranked as Honorary Captain.
Milkha Singh Interesting Facts
Real Milkha Singh
Inspiring Story of Milkha Singh- In order to collect money for food Milkha used to polish shoes at local army camp.
- When he visited to Delhi, he used to spend most of the times on street and came in influence of bad company. He started gambling, watching movies and stealing. His brother tried to resend him to school and got admitted him in 7th standard but he does not want to be in touch of studies. He again started chilling with his company.
- Milkha Singh lived for a short time with the family of his married sister and then he felt burden to them and he used to spend most of the time on railway tracks.
- He was also imprisoned at Tihar jail for travelling on a train without a ticket. His sister, Ishwar, sold some of her jewellery to get his instant release.
- He spent some time at a refugee camp in Purana Qila
- When he took retirement he also served country as the Director of sports in Punjab in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired in 1998 from the post.
- His medals were donated to the country. Before the medal was kept in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and now it is shifted to sport museum in Patiala.
- He donated his pair of addidas shoes in a auction organized by Rahul Bose which he wore in his most memorable race of 400m Olympics final.
- Milkha Singh had taken only one rupee from director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for his Biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag as Biopic fee.
- Speciality about the one rupee note was that it was printed in 1958, the memorable year when the Milkha Singh won the first gold medal for independent India in the Commonwealth Games, that's why he asked for one rupee as his Biopic fees.
Tribute to Milkha Singh
Our legendary sprinter Milkha Singh passed away on June 18 due to Covid-19, the country came together to mourn his demise.
According to NDTV,
Milkha Singh Cremation
The Punjab government had declared one-day full state mourning and declared a holiday as a mark of honour to the legend of our Country. Today the funeral proceeds from Milkha’s Sector 8 residence. Common people gathers to the Sector 25 at cremation ground in order to give respects to the legend. The Milkha died on Friday night due to Covid-19.
He had lost his former national volleyball captain wife Nirmal Kaur to the same due to the same reason Covid-19 on Sunday. In honour of legend Milkha Singh, he was given a gun salute.
According to Aaj Tak,
Jeev Milkha Singh pays tribute to Milkha Singh on Father's Day
Jeev Milkha Singh remembers his father and said he lost his best father, guide and Mentor.
Amul pays tribute to Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh fitness secret
Milkha Singh Hobbies
Playing golf, Walking and doing Workouts were some hobbies of Milkha Singh.
Milkha Singh Books
He also wrote an autobiography 'The Race of My Life' co-written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka, which was published in 2013.
Milkha Singh Dream for India
When Milkha Singh told young athletes about his biggest dream for India
Sprint king Milkha Singh, who missed an Olympic medal by a whisker 60 years ago, wanted to see an Indian win an Olympic medal in athletics -- a dream that remained unfulfilled.
Milkha Singh often encouraged with his biggest dream for India. He always used to pump up young athletes at Chandigarh's Sector 7 Sports Complex, a hub of athletics in the city . He shared young athletes in one such interaction about his biggest dream for India.
"Marnay se pehle Milkha Singh ka ek sapna hai -- Hindustan ko Olympic mein medal mile (Before I die, I wish to see an Indian athlete win a medal at the Olympics),"
Milkha Singh Brands Endorsement
Emami Ltd which is Kolkata-based brand had selected Milkha Singh to endorse in its premium health product ‘Zandu Kesari Jivan’. This was Milkha Singh’s first ever endorsement.The company made Milkha Singh its brand ambassador for Zandu Kesari Jivan in 2013.
The iconic athlete also became part of their multimedia advertising campaign, where he used to explain the uses of Zandu Kesari Jivan.
Why Emami Ltd selected Milkha Singh for endorsement?
According to a press release, Harsh V Agarwal, Director, Emami Ltd, said that their brand found a perfect fit in Milkha Singh, who even at the age of 84, is a symbol of youthfulness and vigour.
The brand Zandu Kesari Jivan was also endorsed by Pandit Birju Maharaj. Chyawanprash was fast growing health supplement category in India worth at Rs 400 crore. So, new television commercial of Zandu Kesari Jivan featured Milkha Singh as their brand ambassador of Emami.
When this question was question was asked to Milkha Singh that why didn't he endorse any brand :
In context to this question Milkha Singh burst out in laughter and told he had no contact with the world of advertising. There were no professional agents those days of 60s and 70s. It was also not considered very good to be seen in brands in his time. He also told as nobody did it so, he also never endorse brands. In this conversation Milkha Singh cleared that it "To be honest, having joined the Punjab Govt’s sports department as an employee, the world of advertising never really intersected my life,”
Actually Milkha was right. Celebrity advertising didn't really exist in those days of 60s and 70s . The biggest reason was there was no television those days.
Milkha Singh Foundation and Charitable Trust
Milkha Singh Charitable Trust, founded in 2003 with the goal of helping poor and needy sportspeople. Milkha Singh also stated to share part of his Biopic movie "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag profit to this charitable trust.
Milkha Singh Movie, Casts and Fees
Milkha Singh Movie
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a 2013 Indian biographical sports film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and script written by Prasoon Joshi. The story is based on the life of legend Milkha Singh, an Indian sprinter who was a Commonwealth Champion and 400m Asian champion and an Olympian.
Milkha Singh Cast
Farhan Akhtar is the lead role with Sonam K Ahuja, Divya Dutta, Meesha Shafi, Pavan Malhotra, Yograj Singh, Art Malik and Prakash Raj in supporting roles.
Milkha Singh challenged Farhan Akhtar
Milkha Singh challenged Farhan Akhtar for a race when they met for the first time for the movie. When Farhan Akhtar actor met Milkha Singh for the first time during his research for the film, he challenged Farhan Akhtar for a race. Milkha Singh also presented his shoes that he wore during the Rome Olympic to Farhan Akhtar during the shoot of 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' to boosts his performance.
Milkha Singh Biopic reality
Milkha Singh Biopic movie "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" generally based on the life of legend Milkha Singh, an Indian sprinter who was a Commonwealth Champion and 400m Asian champion and an Olympian.
When the question arises what showed in the "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" movie is actually what happened in reality the clear answer is no, somewhere it is correct but somewhere it changed it's direction from reality. If, you want to know the reality you can go through Milkha Singh autobiography 'The Race of My Life'.
Milkha Singh Biopic Fee
Where other popular celebrities charge enough amount of fees for their biopic, our legend Milkha Singh had taken only one rupee from director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for his Biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Why Milkha Singh had taken only 1 rupee for his biopic?
Speciality about the one rupee note was that it was printed in 1958, the memorable year when the Milkha Singh won the first gold medal for independent India in the Commonwealth Games.
Rajiv Tandon, CEO, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures Pvt. Ltd, had said in a statement that they wanted to give a priceless amount of appreciation to Milkha ji for just letting us know about his inspirational story through our film.
Significance of 1 rupee note
They also told about the Signifance of the note was that in 1958 independent India won its first gold medal in Commonwealth Games because of Milkha Singh and he also won two gold medals in Asian Games. Money was not the priority of Milkha Singh’s priority he only wanted Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
Milkha Singh wanted that his biopic should be made in such a way that it inspired more youngsters to earn medals in athletics for our country. Milkha Singh also stated that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust, founded in 2003 with the goal of helping poor and needy sportspeople. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2013.
Milkha Singh Songs
Milkha Singh Biopic Movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' has total 8 songs out of which "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag " and "O Rangrez" is most popular and lyrics writer of all song is Prasoon Joshi.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gurbani" | Daler Mehndi | |
| 2. | "Zinda" | Siddharth Mahadevan | |
| 3. | "Mera Yaar" | Javed Bashir | |
| 4. | "Maston Ka Jhund" | Divya Kumar | |
| 5. | "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" | Arif Lohar | |
| 6. | "Slow Motion Angreza" | Sukhwinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa | |
| 7. | "O Rangrez" | Shreya Ghoshal, Javed Bashir | |
| 8. | "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Rock Version)" | Siddharth Mahadevan | |
Milkha Singh Net Worth
$2.5 million (according to official data as in 2012).
Inspiration from Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh lost his parents in partition of India-Pakistan and he came to India as refugee but he never gave up. He polished shoes in army camp to earn some money to eat and used to spend most of the times on street.
But Milkha Singh dedication and hardwork made him to win gold medal and silver medal in Asian Games and Common wealth games as well as in National Games. Milkha Singh made such iconic record of 45.73 seconds in Rome Olympics which inspire young athletes.
Although Milkha Singh faced such poverty in his life, he was not money minded. Milkha Singh took only 1 rupee for his Biopic and done his first endorsement project at age of 84, Milkha Singh gave the actual definition of what real sportsmanship is. He brought Indian athletics on world map. Milkha has really an Inspiration story for all the Indians.
Milkha Singh had great dream of seeing an Indian athelete to win Olympic before he die but sadly it remain unfilled but this shows Milkha Singh passion towards his country and sports.
Milkha Singh Photos
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