Arduous training & creating history - Part 8

Remembering 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh 

From the archives of Milkha's little-known autobiography: Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh, which was published first in Punjabi in 1970 and later translated into Hindi in 1977 and in English in early 80s, we are bringing you the life of legendary athlete from witnessing tragedy, deprivation, survival against all odds and victory in the face of loss. The pre-partition and post-partition era.


Flashback - Part 8

Arduous training

After the event, Milkha was back to following the routine of a rangrut (an army term for a sepoy) in Secunderabad. However, Milkha didn’t let that deter his growing interest in athletics and began to train on his own. “After finishing my daily duty, I would get dinner which I would keep under my cot. I would first devote time to training, though I had no knowledge of how to train for a 400m event. But, putting in all my efforts, I would train, even if at times blood oozed from my nostrils,” he says. “After the session, I would have dinner and then fall in the same old routine of the parade in the morning. I trained this way for around a year,” Milkha adds.

Creating history

The coaching camp for participants of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics was held in Patiala. A local tailor stitched the kit that included a blazer for the seven members (including a woman) of the athletics squad. In his first Olympics race, Milkha lost in the initial rounds. But the experience that he gathered was a launching pad for a future champion. 

In 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games, Milkha Singh created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win gold in the CWG.

Next: Becoming the ‘Flying Sikh’