Milkha Singh, ‘The Flying Sikh’ from Punjab, was born in 1935. He is the most appreciated athlete India has ever produced. The interesting thing about his life is that he spent his childhood years in a village.

But it was his sheer hard work and passion for the race that enabled him to excel in both national and international championships.

His athletic career began when he joined the army at the age of 18. Here he paid special attention to athletics and started training himself for 400-metre race on tracks. All this did not go in vain. He was able to establish two new records in 400-metre and 200-metre races.

Then came the golden year of 1962 for Milkha Singh in the 4th Asiad held in Indonesia at Jakarta he won a gold medal in the 400-metre sprint. In the 1960 Olympics he stood fourth. His record of 47.5 in 400- metre race is still the national record for Indian sprinters. Considering his marvelous performance in the field of sports, the Indian government conferred the Padma Shri on him.