Milkha Singh

Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929, into a Sikh Rathore Rajput family.{{Cite news|title=Exclusive Interview: Milkha Singh – The making of a legend|url=https://www.sify.com/sports/exclusive-interview-milkha-singh---the-making-of-a-legend-imagegallery-others-nhmmDTdfeaasi.html|access-date=24 August 2020|website=Sify|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902013749/https://www.sify.com/sports/exclusive-interview-milkha-singh---the-making-of-a-legend-imagegallery-others-nhmmDTdfeaasi.html|url-status=dead}} His birthplace was Govindpura, a village {{convert|10|km|mi}} from Muzaffargarh city in Punjab Province, British India (now Kot Adu district, Pakistan). He was one of 15 siblings, eight of whom died before the Partition of India. He was orphaned during the Partition when his parents, a brother and two sisters were killed in the violence that ensued. He witnessed these killings.{{cite news |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/if-milkha-singh-was-born-in-present-times-no-one-would-be-able-to-break-his-record-in-100-yrs/1135643/ |work=The Indian Express |date=30 June 2013 |first=Nihal |last=Koshie |title=If Milkha Singh was born in present times, no one would be able to break his record in 100 yrs |access-date=14 July 2013 |archive-date=31 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131052152/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/if-milkha-singh-was-born-in-present-times-no-one-would-be-able-to-break-his-record-in-100-yrs/1135643 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/india-s-first-celebrity-athlete-113070500965_1.html |title=India's first celebrity athlete |work=Business Standard |first=Aabhas |last=Sharma |date=5 July 2013 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-date=10 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710193849/http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/india-s-first-celebrity-athlete-113070500965_1.html |url-status=live }}

Escaping the troubles in Punjab, where killings of Hindus and Sikhs were continuing, by moving to Delhi, India, in 1947, Singh lived for a short time with the family of his married sister and was briefly imprisoned at Tihar jail for travelling on a train without a ticket. His sister, Ishvar, sold some jewellery to obtain his release.{{cite web |url=http://hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20050730006407000.htm&date=tss2831/&prd=tss& |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130710115229/http://hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20050730006407000.htm&date=tss2831/&prd=tss& |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2013 |title=The Flying Sikh's Exploits |first=Gulu |last=Ezekiel |work=The Hindu |date=30 July 2005 |access-date=13 July 2013 }} He spent some time at a refugee camp in Purana Qila and at a resettlement colony in Shahdara, both in Delhi.

Milkha became disenchanted with his life and considered becoming a dacoit{{efn|Paan Singh Tomar, one of Singh's contemporaries in the Indian Army and as an athlete, did become infamous as a dacoit.}} but was instead persuaded by one of his brothers, Malkhan, to attempt recruitment to the Indian Army. He successfully gained entrance on his fourth attempt, in 1951, and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secunderabad and he was introduced to athletics. He had run the 10{{nbsp}}km distance to and from school as a child and was selected by the army for special training in athletics after finishing sixth in a compulsory cross-country run for new recruits. Singh has acknowledged how the army introduced him to sport, saying that "I came from a remote village, I didn't know what running was, or the Olympics".

Milkha represented India in the 200m and 400m competitions of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.{{cite web |pages=287, 290 |title=The XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVI Olympiad |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=30 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630112727/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf |url-status=live }} His inexperience meant that he did not progress from the heat stages but a meeting with the eventual 400m champion at those Games, Charles Jenkins, both inspired him to greater things and provided him with information about training methods.

In 1958, Singh set records for the 200m and 400m in the National Games of India, held at Cuttack, and also won gold medals in the same events at the Asian Games. He then won a gold medal in the 400m (440 yards at this time) competition at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games with a time of 46.6 seconds. This latter achievement made him the first gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games from independent India. Before Vikas Gowda won the gold in 2014, Milkha was the only Indian male to have won an individual athletics gold medal at those Games.{{cite news |title=Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/vikas-gowda-shot-put-is-first-indian-male-to-clinch-athletics-gold-in-56-yrs/1/375051.html |access-date=11 September 2015 |work=India Today |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402201158/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/vikas-gowda-shot-put-is-first-indian-male-to-clinch-athletics-gold-in-56-yrs/1/375051.html |url-status=live }}

Singh won the British AAA Championships title at the 1960 AAA Championships.{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=4 May 2025}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=4 May 2025}} Singh was persuaded by Jawaharlal Nehru to set aside his memories of the Partition era to race successfully in 1960 against Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan, where a post-race comment by the then General Ayub Khan led to him acquiring the nickname of The Flying Sikh.{{efn|On Singh's 1960 victory over Abdul Khaliq in Pakistan, Ayub Khan, then President of Pakistan, told Singh that "You didn't run today, you flew".}} Some sources say that he set a world record of 45.8 seconds in France, shortly before the Rome Olympics in the same year but the official report of the Games lists the record holder as Lou Jones, who ran 45.2 at Los Angeles in 1956. At those Olympics, he was involved in a close-run final race in the 400m competition, where he was placed fourth. Singh had beaten all the leading contenders other than Otis Davis, and a medal had been anticipated because of his good form. However, he made an error when leading the race at 250m, slowing down in the belief that his pace could not be sustained and looking round at his fellow competitors. Singh believes that these errors caused him to lose his medal opportunity and they are his "worst memory". Davis, Carl Kaufmann and Malcolm Spence all passed him, and a photo-finish resulted. Davis and Kaufman were both timed at a world-record breaking 44.9 seconds, while Spence and Singh went under the pre-Games Olympic record of 45.9 seconds, set in 1952 by George Rhoden and Herb McKenley, with times of 45.5 and 45.6 seconds, respectively. The Age noted in 2006 that "Milkha Singh is the only Indian to have broken an Olympic track record. Unfortunately he was the fourth man to do so in the same race"{{cite news |work=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/great-sporting-sikhs/2006/08/12/1154803143471.html |title=Great sporting Sikhs |first=Michael |last=Coulter |date=12 August 2006 |access-date=14 July 2013 |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207084936/http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/great-sporting-sikhs/2006/08/12/1154803143471.html |url-status=live }} but the official Olympic report notes that Davis had already equalled the Rhoden/McKenley Olympic record in the quarter-finals and surpassed it with a time of 45.5 seconds in the semi-finals.

At the 1962 Asian Games, held in Jakarta, Singh won gold in the 400m and in the 4 x 400m relay.{{cite news |url=http://hindu.com/2002/01/23/stories/2002012305581600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722164223/http://hindu.com/2002/01/23/stories/2002012305581600.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2013 |title=Makhan Singh dead |date=23 January 2002 |work=The Hindu |access-date=13 July 2013}} He attended the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he was entered to compete in the 400m, the 4 x 100m relay and the 4 x 400m relay.{{cite web |page=596 |title=The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad |volume=1 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v1.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830061319/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/orw1964.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=dead }} He did not take part in either the 400m{{cite web |pages=25–26 |title=The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad |volume=2 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729012305/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |archive-date=29 July 2017 |url-status=dead }} or the 4 x 100m relay{{efn|The Indian 4 x 100m relay competitors at the 1964 Olympic Games were Anthony Coutinho, Makhan Singh, Kenneth Powell and Rajasekaran Pichaya in both the heats and semi-final, where they were eliminated from the competition.{{cite web |pages=48, 50 |title=The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad |volume=2 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729012305/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |archive-date=29 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}}} and the Indian team of Milkha Singh, Makhan Singh, Amrit Pal and Ajmer Singh were eliminated when they finished fourth in the heat stages of the 4 x 400m.{{cite web |page=51 |title=The XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad |volume=2 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729012305/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1964/or1964v2.pdf |archive-date=29 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}

There have been claims that Singh won 77 of his 80 races, but these are spurious. The number of races in which he participated is not verified, nor is the number of victories, but he lost a 400m race at the 1964 National Games in Calcutta to Makhan Singh{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020122/sports.htm#10 |work=The Tribune |date=21 January 2002 |access-date=13 July 2013 |title=Makhan Singh dead |first=Amardeep |last=Bhattal |archive-date=16 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716050106/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020122/sports.htm#10 |url-status=live }} and he did not finish first in any of his four races at the 1960 Olympic Games{{cite web |pages=76–80 |title=The XVII Olympiad Rome 1960 – The Official Report of the Organizing Committee |publisher=Organizing Committee of the Games of the XVII Olympiad |volume=2 |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1960/OR1960v2.pdf |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825204001/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1960/OR1960v2.pdf |archive-date=25 August 2016 |url-status=dead }} or the aforementioned qualification races at the 1956 Olympics.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1956/ATH/mens-200-metres.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174400/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1956/ATH/mens-200-metres.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's 200 metres |access-date=10 July 2017 |work=Sports Reference}}

Singh's time in the 1960 Olympics 400m final, which was run on a cinder track, set a national record that stood until 1998 when Paramjit Singh exceeded it on a synthetic track and with fully automatic timing that recorded 45.70 seconds. Although Singh's Olympic result of 45.6 seconds had been hand-timed, an electronic system at those Games had determined his record to be 45.73.{{cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/38-year-old-indian-national-record-falls |title=38 Year Old Indian Record Falls |first=Norris |last=Pritam |publisher=IAAF |date=6 November 1998 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=8 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108052956/http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/38-year-old-indian-national-record-falls |url-status=live }}

{{As of|2012}}, Singh lived in Chandigarh.{{cite web |title=Milkha Singh gives his 1960 Olympics shoes for charity |publisher=Mid-Day |date=23 January 2012 |url=http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/184418-milkha-singh-gives-his-1960-olympics-shoes-for-charity |access-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715074619/http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/184418-milkha-singh-gives-his-1960-olympics-shoes-for-charity |archive-date=15 July 2013 |url-status=dead }} He met Nirmal Saini, a former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team in Ceylon in 1955; they married in 1962{{cite news|work=The Financial Express |title=Will over matter |first=Dipti Nagpaul |last=D'Souza |date=23 June 2013 |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/will-over-matter/1132543/0 |access-date=15 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724040331/http://www.financialexpress.com/news/will-over-matter/1132543/0 |archive-date=24 July 2013 }} and had three daughters and a son, the golfer Jeev Milkha Singh. In 1999, they adopted the seven-year-old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill.

File:Milkha singh.jpg

File:The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu presenting the Punjab University Khel Rattan Award to Padma Shree Milkha Singh, at the 67th Convocation of Panjab University, in Chandigarh on March 04, 2018.jpg presenting the Punjab University Khel Rattan Award to Singh (2018)]]

Singh was promoted from the rank of sepoy to junior commissioned officer in recognition of his successes in the 1958 Asian Games.{{cite news |title=Milkha Singh backs promotion for silver medallist armyman |first=Vikas |last=Kahol |work=India Today |date=9 August 2012 |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/milkha-singh-backs-promotion-for-silver-medallist-armyman/1/212542.html |access-date=14 July 2013 |archive-date=1 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101181059/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/milkha-singh-backs-promotion-for-silver-medallist-armyman/1/212542.html |url-status=live }}{{efn|Promotion in recognition of bringing glory to the nation continues today. Some cricketers attain the rank of honorary colonel and in 2012 Singh was outspoken in his desire to see promotion for Vijay Kumar, who had won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.}} He subsequently became Director of Sports in Punjab Ministry of Education,{{cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/2000/sep/08milka.htm |publisher=Rediff |first=Archana |last=Masih |title=Milkha Singh … on the race of his life |access-date=13 July 2013 |date=September 2000 |archive-date=16 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716004411/http://www.rediff.com/sports/2000/sep/08milka.htm |url-status=live }} a post he retired from in 1998. Also in 1958, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, following his success in 1958.

In 2001, he turned down an offer of the Arjuna Award from the Indian government, arguing that it was intended to recognise young sports people and not those such as him. He also thought that the award was being inappropriately given to people who had little notable involvement as active sports people at all, and had become devalued.{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010817/main5.htm |work=The Tribune |date=16 August 2001 |access-date=13 July 2013 |title=Milkha Singh not to accept Arjuna Award |archive-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715152917/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010817/main5.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1494770.stm |title='Flying Sikh' snubs award |first=Asit |last=Jolly |date=16 August 2001 |access-date=13 July 2013 |work=BBC News |archive-date=23 February 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030223080909/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1494770.stm |url-status=live }} While sharing his experience in a college in Goa in 2014, he stated, "I rejected the Arjuna I was offered after I received the Padma Shri. It was like being offered an SSC [secondary school] certificate after securing a Masters degree."{{Cite web|last=Mokani|first=Paresh|date=26 August 2014|title=Arjuna distributed like prasad in temple: Milkha Singh |location=Goa |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/athletics/arjuna-distributed-like-prasad-in-temple-milkha-singh/articleshow/40896789.cms|access-date=19 June 2021|website=The Times of India}}

All of Singh's medals have been donated to the nation. They were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi and later moved to a sports museum in Patiala, where a pair of running shoes that he wore in Rome are also displayed.{{cite news |work=The Times of India |title=Milkha Singh donates Olympic shoes for charity auction |agency=Press Trust of India |date=24 January 2012 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/Milkha-Singh-donates-Olympic-shoes-for-charity-auction/articleshow/11618764.cms |access-date=15 July 2013 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728234126/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/Milkha-Singh-donates-Olympic-shoes-for-charity-auction/articleshow/11618764.cms |url-status=live }} In 2012, he donated the Adidas shoes that he had worn in the 1960 400m final to be sold in a charity auction organised by actor Rahul Bose.

Singh was admitted to the intensive care unit at Fortis Hospital in Mohali on 24 May 2021 with pneumonia caused by COVID-19. His condition was, for a while, described as stable, but he died on 18 June 2021 at 11:30{{nbsp}}pm in Chandigarh.{{Cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/milkha-singh-dead-7365490/ |title=Milkha Singh no more; passes away aged 91 due to COVID-19 complications |author=Nitin Sharma |work=The Indian Express |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618192823/https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/milkha-singh-dead-7365490/ |url-status=live }} His wife, Nirmal Saini, had died a few days earlier on 13 June 2021, also due to COVID-19.{{Cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/nirmal-kaur-milkha-singh-wife-covid-19-death-7357415/ |title=Nirmal Milkha Singh dies of Covid: 'She has been the biggest trophy for me' |first=Nitin |last=Sharma |work=The Indian Express |date=14 June 2021 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614112007/https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/nirmal-kaur-milkha-singh-wife-covid-19-death-7357415/ |url-status=live }} Singh was laid on his funeral pyre with a photo of his wife in his hands.{{Cite web|first=Shalini|last=Gupta|date=2021-06-20|title=Milkha Singh cremated with full state honours in Chandigarh|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/milkha-singh-cremated-with-full-state-honours-in-chandigarh-101624135471437.html|access-date=2021-06-20|website=Hindustan Times|location=Chandigarh}}

Singh and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his autobiography, titled The Race of My Life. It was published in 2013.{{cite news |url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/zqnhgnEijysVEmD6DfEhrJ/Milkha-Singh--My-God-my-religion-my-beloved.html |title=Milkha Singh: 'My God, my religion, my beloved' |publisher=Livemint |date=10 July 2013 |access-date=15 July 2013}} The book inspired{{cite news |work=The Indian Express |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/farhan-akhtar-looked-like-my-duplicate-in-bhaag-milkha-bhaag-milkha-singh/1133618/ |title=Farhan Akhtar looked like my duplicate in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: Milkha Singh |date=25 June 2013 |access-date=17 August 2014 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000658/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/farhan-akhtar-looked-like-my-duplicate-in-bhaag-milkha-bhaag-milkha-singh/1133618/ |url-status=live }} Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a 2013 biographical film of Singh's life.{{cite news|title=I don't know how much people know about Milkha Singh: Farhan Akhtar |work=Hindustan Times|date=12 July 2013 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/I-don-t-know-how-much-people-know-about-Milkha-Singh-Farhan-Akhtar/Article1-1091306.aspx |access-date=15 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714194215/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/I-don-t-know-how-much-people-know-about-Milkha-Singh-Farhan-Akhtar/Article1-1091306.aspx |archive-date=14 July 2013 }}{{cite web |title=Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Picks Up Well on Day One |date=12 July 2013 |access-date=13 July 2013 |url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=5853&nCat= |publisher=Box Office India |archive-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715043821/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=5853&nCat= |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/fawdjxruZQLB1WdtIkQ5DI/When-Milkha-Singh-ran-for-his-life.html |title=When Milkha Singh ran for his life |first=Nandini |last=Ramnath |publisher=Livemint/Hindustan Times |date=1 July 2013 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718202025/http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/fawdjxruZQLB1WdtIkQ5DI/When-Milkha-Singh-ran-for-his-life.html |url-status=live }} The film is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and stars Farhan Akhtar in the title role, with Sonam Kapoor, Meesha Shafi and Divya Dutta in female lead roles. The film was widely acclaimed in India and won awards including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the National Film Awards,{{cite news|publisher=NDTV|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/winners-honoured-at-61st-national-film-award-function-560003|title=Winners Honoured at 61st National Film Award Function|date=3 May 2014|access-date=17 May 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229200236/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/winners-honoured-at-61st-national-film-award-function-560003|url-status=live}} and 5 awards at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2014.{{cite news |work=Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/bhaag-milkha-bhaag-wins-five-awards-at-iifa-2014/articleshow/34291494.cms |title='Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' wins five awards at IIFA 2014 |date=27 April 2014 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=14 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014095436/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/bhaag-milkha-bhaag-wins-five-awards-at-iifa-2014/articleshow/34291494.cms |url-status=live }} The film made over {{INR|100|link=yes}} crores.{{cite news |publisher=NDTV |url=https://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/bhaag-milkha-bhaag-makes-rs-100-crores-still-top-of-box-office-613241 |title=Bhaag Milkha Bhaag makes Rs 100 crores, still top of box office |date=6 August 2013 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921171945/https://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/bhaag-milkha-bhaag-makes-rs-100-crores-still-top-of-box-office-613241 |url-status=live }} Singh sold the movie rights for one rupee but inserted a clause stating that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust. The Trust was founded in 2003 with the aim of assisting poor and needy sportspeople.{{cite web|url=http://www.rupapublications.co.in/books/race-my-life-autobiography |publisher=Rupa Publications |title=The Race of My Life: An Autobiography |access-date=15 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712015624/http://www.rupapublications.co.in/books/race-my-life-autobiography |archive-date=12 July 2013 }}

In September 2017, Singh's wax statue – created by sculptors of Madame Tussauds in London – was unveiled at Chandigarh. It depicts Singh in running posture during his victorious run at the 1958 Commonwealth Games.{{Cite news|title=Milkha immortalized in wax|last=Sood|first=Kartik|date=27 September 2017|work=The Times of India}} The statue is placed at Madame Tussauds museum in New Delhi, India.{{cite news |work=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/other-sports/milkha-singh-s-dream-comes-true-flying-sikh-gets-a-madame-tussauds-wax-statue/story-GLwy5dJRH9itSmKAvJtmgK.html |title=Milkha Singh's dream comes true, Flying Sikh gets a Madame Tussauds wax statue |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923170742/https://www.hindustantimes.com/other-sports/milkha-singh-s-dream-comes-true-flying-sikh-gets-a-madame-tussauds-wax-statue/story-GLwy5dJRH9itSmKAvJtmgK.html |url-status=live }} After winning India's first track and field gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, Neeraj Chopra dedicated his victory to Singh.{{cite news|last=Mathur|first=Abhimanyu|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/neeraj-chopra-makes-milkha-singhs-dream-a-reality-dedicates-olympic-gold-to-him-and-pt-usha/articleshow/85153736.cms|title=Neeraj Chopra makes Milkha Singh's dream a reality; dedicates Olympic gold to him and PT Usha|date=8 August 2021|access-date=9 August 2021|work=The Times of India|archive-date=9 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809051740/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/neeraj-chopra-makes-milkha-singhs-dream-a-reality-dedicates-olympic-gold-to-him-and-pt-usha/articleshow/85153736.cms|url-status=live}}

• Makhan Singh (sprinter)
• List of autobiographies by Indians
• Jeev Milkha Singh

• {{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Milkha|title=The Race of My Life: An Autobiography|last2=Sanwalka|first2=Sonia|publisher=Rupa Books|year=2013|isbn=978-8129129109}}
• Biopic - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{Olympics.com profile}}
• {{Olympedia}}
• {{CGF profile}}
• {{World Athletics}}
• {{IMDb name}}
• [https://punjabipedia.org/topic.aspx?txt=ਮਿਲਖਾ+ਸਿੰਘ Milkha Singh] at Punjabipedia
• [https://www.indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTempSimple.aspx?MnId=gOUQNukcgsrVzz5RnqF1GAggf12skTg06oem7za0y4U=&ParentID=NRu0wvIHmyGbFDRc/dcuyw== Sports and Achievements], Indian Army.
• {{Cite web|date=26 April 2020|title=Pause, rewind, play: When Milkha Singh created history and clinched India's first Commonwealth gold|url=https://scroll.in/field/960240/pause-rewind-play-when-milkha-singh-created-history-and-clinched-indias-first-commonwealth-gold|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Scroll.in}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38571647 |work=Witness |date=10 January 2017 |title=How India's 'Flying Sikh' went from orphan to gold medallist }}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Sports}}

{{Footer Commonwealth Champions 400m Men}}

{{Footer Asian Games Champions 200 metres Men}}

{{Footer Asian Games Champions 400 metres Men}}

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Category:1929 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:Indian male sprinters

Category:Olympic athletes for India

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Category:Punjabi Sikhs

Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports

Category:Asian Games gold medalists for India

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Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics

Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India

Category:Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 Asian Games

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 Asian Games

Category:People from Muzaffargarh District

Category:People from Muzaffargarh

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

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Category:Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games

Category:Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games

Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India

Category:Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)