Milkha Singh was the first Indian athlete to reach
Olympic finals. Milkha Singh reached the finals of 400 m at the 1960
Rome Olympics. He finished fourth in the finals and clocked a timing of
45.6 seconds. Mlkha Singh missed the bronze medal by just a difference
of 0.1 second.
Milkha Singh is nicknamed The Flying Sikh. He was born in Lyallpur (now
in Pakistan) on 8 October 1935. He lost his parents during partition.
Milkha Singh also worked in the Indian Army for a short time. He came
into limelight during the National Games at Patiala in 1956. In 1958,
Milkha Singh set 200 and 400 meters record in the National games at
Cuttack. The same year he established new records in the 200 and 400
meters in the Asian games at Tokyo. Milkha Singh also won the gold medal
in the 1958 Commonwealth Games at Cardiff. Milkha Singh was conferred
with Padma Shri in 1958.
