A brief history about Milkha Singh’s track records

Milkha Singh, also known as the Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field athlete who made history by being the first Indian male to reach the final of an Olympic athletics meet when he finished fourth in the 400-meter competition at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

At the Asian and Commonwealth Games, Milkha Singh was a phenomenon. For more than four decades, he held national records. He was disqualified during the heats for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne after completing the national trials in the 200-meter and 400-meter sprints.

Singh won the 200-meter and 400-meter events at the 1958 Asian Games. Later that year, he won the Commonwealth Games 400-meter, which was India’s first athletics gold in the Games’ history. At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he barely missed out on third place in a photo finish for bronze in the 400 meters. At the 1962 Asian Games, Singh defended his 400-meter gold and won another gold as part of India’s 4×400-meter relay team.

1964 Tokyo Olympics, he competed in the national 4 x 400 relay team, but they did not progress beyond preliminary heats. In 1959, Singh received the Padma Shri (one of India’s highest civilian honors). Following his retirement, he worked in Punjab as the director of athletics. The Race of My Life, Singh’s autobiography (cowritten with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka), was released in 2013.

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