Legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh celebrates his birthday on November 20th.
On Indian ace sprinter and athlete Milkha Singh's birthday, we let you in on some interesting facts about him.
Milkha Singh
- He is nicknamed the âFlying Sikh'. It was given to him by Ayub Khan, Pakistan President at the time.
- The only Indian athlete to break an Olympic record.
- His parents were killed during the Indo-Pak partition massacre.
- He was rejected by the Army thrice.
- Has been awarded the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award by the Government of India.
- He who won 77 of the 80 races he ran.
- The athlete's son - Jeev Milkha Singh - is the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world.
- Milkha Singh was once jailed for travelling without a ticket.
- Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra's upcoming biopic on the athlete 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' will focus on his life from 1946 to 1960.
- He represented India in three Olympics.
- South African Malcolm Spence pipped Milkha Singh by 1/10th of a second for the bronze in the 400 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
- When he won the gold medal in the 400m competition at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games, he became the first gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games from independent India.u00a0u00a0
