“If I am called The Flying Sikh, then the credit goes to Pakistan” said Milkha Singh about the title he is famously known for. He had an immense contribution in putting Indian sports on the world stage. The origin of his iconic title goes long back to the international athletic event of 1960, held in Pakistan.
1958 was an important year in his career. He had qualified for the Asian Games held in Tokyo. There, he met Abdul Khaliq for the first time. Abdul was popularly known as Asia’s fastest athlete. Abdul had won the 100 metre race while Milkha had won the 400 metre race. It was time for both of them to compete for the 200 metre race. This event was specially mentioned in Milkha Singh’s book “The race of my life”. The race started off with a tough competition, both of them were running neck to neck. Nobody could tell who could be the winner.
At the finishing point, they both reached almost at the same time. Milkha had a muscle pull in his left leg and fell down at the finishing line. The judges had to view the photograph taken at the finishing line from different angles in order to declare a winner. Finally the result was announced, the winner was Milkha Singh with 21.6 seconds, and Abdul Khaliq lost with 21.7 seconds. Milkha Singh described it as sheer luck that he fell on the finishing line.
Right after winning a double gold medal in Tokyo Asian Games, Milkha won India’s first ever gold Medal in the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff for 400 metre race. He had described it as one of the proudest moments of his career, as nobody knew him in the Commonwealth Games initially. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister was immensely proud of his remarkable victory and declared a government holiday to celebrate the event. He gained much popularity after his triumph at the Commonwealth Games, becoming one of the most famous athletes of independent India.
After the tussle at Tokyo Asian Games, Pakistan invited Milkha for an athletic event to compete with Abdul and two other athletes. But the only problem was that Milkha refused to go to Pakistan. He did not want to go to the place where he had experienced the biggest tragedy of his life, losing his family in the communal violence during the partition of India and Pakistan. He could not forget the night his parents were killed and did not want to revisit the past trauma. But Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called and somehow convinced him to take part in the event. He emphasized that as a neighbouring country, it is important to maintain friendly relations with them.
He finally left for the event through Wagah border. He was given a warm welcome with decorations and flowers. There were posters stating “Milkha Singh Vs Abdul Khaliq”. It became very clear to him that the sole aim of this event was to put to rest the question of who was the better athlete among the two.
On the day of the historic event, there were thousands of people in the stadium. They were eager to witness the 200 metre race between Milkha Singh and Abdul Khaliq. As we all know, every sports event between India and Pakistan is always hyped by the masses. This was also one such prominent event. Along with the huge crowd, the then President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan was also present there. The race finally started and the excitement of the audience was at its peak. Abdul Khaliq took the initial lead, leaving everyone behind. The crowd of Pakistan cheered with joy and excitement. But soon a sudden change of expression was seen in the crowd's face. Milkha grabbed the lead, overtaking his competitors one by one with ease. Everyone’s eyes were on his track. He reached the finishing line in no time, and was declared the winner. The crowd was left in awe. It was at this moment that General Ayub Khan was mesmerised by his performance.
While awarding the medal, he said “Milkha, you were not running, you were flying. Pakistan will from now on call you as The Flying Sikh.” Thus he became “The Flying Sikh”, the title by which he is known worldwide till date.
Milkha Singh passed away on 18 June 2021 due to post Covid complications at the age of 91. He is and will always be remembered as a source of inspiration. A legend who moved on from the hardships of his past and became one of the greatest athletes. He revered the racing track. For him, running was his god.
You can achieve anything in life. It just depends on how desperate you are to achieve it.
-MILKHA SINGH