Milkha Singh
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Achievements
By K Datta, A race that still stops time in India, August 29, 2017: The Times of India
When Milkha Singh narrowly missed a bronze medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics, television had not invaded our drawing rooms like it did during PV Sindhu's epic battle which sent heart-beats fluctuating with excitement.
In the 1950s and '60s, you had to wait for morning's newspapers for news about Milkha's exploits, perhaps primitive compared to today when news spreads instantly . Yet, the races which the Indian sport's first superstar took part in, at home or abroad, created a buzz whenever he stepped on a track.
Memories are still fresh of the days in September 1960 when Milkha made his way through the heats into the final of the 400 metres final. He began by clocking 47.6 seconds in the first heat, and followed up with running the quarter-final and semi-final heats in 45.5 and 45.9.
Milkha has admitted that he had difficulty falling asleep on the night before the Rome final. Nothing unusual. There were athletics fans back home who also went through a similar experience. But once the starter cracked his gun, our man, running in the fifth lane if memory serves right, was off to a promising start. For some reason, some called it an error of judgement, he slowed down a bit at the 250 metre mark. Otis Davis of the US, Germany's Karl Kaufmann, and Spence were there at the tape ahead of Milkha, who was fourth in 46.5 sec.
Milkha's hopes, as also that of his fellow-countrymen, of winning an Olympic track medal ended in painful disappointment, a pain which endures to this day.
