He came, He saw, He conquered the world of athletics with his hard work, determination, grit. A couple of days after being tested negative for COVID-19 and shifted out of the ICU, legendary Indian runner, four times Asian games medalist, Milkha Singh, passed away at the age of 91 due to post-COVID complications at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hospital on Friday.
Let us look at the legendary records and laurels the Flying Sikh achieved during his career.
Milkha Singh was the first from India to win gold in the 400m race during the 1958 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
During the 1960 Olympic Games, Milkha Singh took part in the 400m race but could finish only fourth. However, he still broke various records. American Otis Davis won the race by one-hundredth of a second over German Carl Kaufmann. His fourth-place time of 45.73 seconds was the Indian national record for almost 40 years.
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games
Milkha Singh is the only Indian athlete to win gold in 400 meters race at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games.
Milkha made his debut during the 1958 Asian Games, winning the gold medal. In the 1962 Asian Games, he won two golds in the 400m and 400m relay.
Here is a video of Milkha Singh during the Commonwealth Games, 1958
National Games
In another national achievement, he also won the silver during the 1964 National Games in Kolkata in the 400m race.
Milkha Singh in Olympics
He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
He set his career record at 77 wins out of 80 races.
For his legendary achievements, Singh was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, in recognition of his sporting achievements.