Milkha Singh was born in a small village that is now in Pakistan. He saw his parents and siblings being killed by a mob during the partition of British India. Thousands of people were killed during the partition. Singh managed to escape to the jungle and find a train which brought Singh to Delhi and he joined Army later.
Singh escaped to the jungle during the riots and then managed to find a train that brought him to Delhi, where he later joined the army.
Milkha Singh, one of India’s sports superstars, has died of Covid complications at the age of 91.
Milkha Singh, who was popularly known as the Flying Sikh, died late on Friday in a hospital in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh.
Singh tested positive for Covid on 20 May. His wife, Nirmal Kaur, a former volleyball captain, had died of covid a week ago. She was 85.
“He fought hard, but God has his ways,” Singh’s family said.
Singh was the first Indian to win gold at commonwealth in 400 meters in 1958. He missed out on an Olympic medal in Rome. Singh represented India at the Olympics in 1956, 1960, and 1964.