At 83, Milkha Singh is not ready to slow down. After Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, he is upbeat about his autobiography which reveals more fascinating facets of his life, like how he met his wife and his role of an administrator in Indian sports. By Karan Bhardwaj
Sitting comfortably on a couch at the Party Room of Delhi Golf Club, sprinter Milkha Singh greets us with a big smile. Dressed in a grey suit, which he generally dons for public appearances, he shakes hands before offering us cookies. Mobile rings and he tells, “Haa bachhe! They are organising this film’s screening tomorrow which will be followed by a party! I am sitting with a scribe at the moment. Can you connect laterIJ” He disconnects saying, “A lot of things are happening. Just a few minutes ago, I got a call from a woman-athlete. She said her kids are inspired by the film and want to become an athlete like me.”
On that, we ask him to share about the special call from ace American athlete Carl lewis who watched Bhaag Milkha Bhaag with an Indian friend. “He was surprised how roughly I was trained and shattered world records. They are nurtured on scientific lines but I used to run barefoot and would always get hurt. For them, it’s a miracle. He wants to send me a gift. I was reluctant since he is very young but he was adamant,” he smiles.
Certainly, Milkha Singh is on a high! The other day he was inaugurating a sports club in Capital and today his manager has locked a few events. “life has changed at this phase. I feel so inspired today. This has expanded my life by one more decade. I am enjoying. People of my age cannot even walk. I am having fun with young people and attending parties and launching events,” he announces with pride.
Till now, the former athlete believes, people knew him as a racer. But with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, his hardships and tough life have come to the fore. “Farhan and his director have done a brilliant job. They have shown 80 per cent of the reality. I am lucky that I can see a movie on my own life. Otherwise, Bollywood makes films on dead icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” he quips. Notably, this is the only film Singh has seen in last 50 years. After he missed the Rome Olympics by a whisker, he stopped watching movies. “It was heart-breaking moment. Even today when I recall those memories, I feel hurt. It was a historical event. It was because of me that everybody in the 400m finals broke the previous world records. I led the race for first 250m but couldn’t win. I slowed down a bit for a moment. I regretted not to have maintained that rhythm which I could have done easily. Had I participated in 200m race, I would have been the sure-shot winner,” says the achiever who won 77 of 80 races.
After the film, Singh is looking forward to his autobiography Milkha Singh: The Race of My life (Rupa Publications). The last book he endorsed was 35 years ago which was published in Hindi and Punjabi. “Filmmakers must have read that book and approached for film. My son Jeev Milkha Singh chose Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra since he had seen Rang De Basanti. Though I didn’t charge anything, we made an agreement that 10-15 per cent of profits would go to Milkha Singh Charitable Trust,” he says. Unlike the movie, the latest autobiography reveals Singh’s role as a sportsman, administrator, an ambassador, talks about his personal life and views on politics of Indian sports.
The moment you ask why India couldn’t have another Milkha Singh, the legendary sportsman doesn’t mince words. “There is lack of spirit. See what China has done! I was surprised to see their work. On my visit, I checked their sports academies and stadia. They have separate in-charge for each discipline who hire coaches, trainers and fix accountabilities. For sports to flourish in India, drastic measures need to be urgently taken. There has to be a unanimous agreement between the government, sports federations and associations, to discard personal agendas and gains and strive towards a common goal. The government has provided more than adequate funds and several state-of-the-art facilities, but what are they getting in returnIJ Hard-hitting questions need to be asked on future plans, implementation and allocation of funds,” he states.
After retirement from track in 1964, Singh played an important role as an administrator. He opened Punjab’s first sports school which paved way for a revolution in Indian sports. “We produced several world-class sportspersons, including Ajit Pal Singh and Surjit Singh — both were students of the sports school in Jalandhar and later captained India in hockey. Balbir Singh Jr represented India in hockey; Ajaib Singh was the 400m champion and Mahinder Singh Gill, a triple jumper. Many of them participated in national-level games and when they won they were offered lucrative jobs by the Railways, Police, banks and even corporate houses like Tata. So, basically we couldn’t retain talent in our nation,” he shares.
What saddens him most is the popularity of drug among young athletes. “When I used to run, the only drugs I knew of were those taken for medical purposes. Today, visit any educational institution in Punjab, and you will find needles and other substance abuse paraphernalia lying around openly. The authorities are aware of what is taking place, so are the coaches and doctors, who pretend that they don’t. In the last few years, there has been a spate of scandals among Indian sportspeople. Two members of the Indian women’s 4x400-metre relay team, who won gold medals at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, tested positive for the use of performance enhancing steroids; more recently was the unexpected allegation that Olympic bronze-medallist, Vijender Singh, had taken heroin, though the tests turned out to be negative. Despite the personal humiliation and disgrace of medals being returned and dishonour to the country, no action has been taken to stop the spread of drugs,” he laments.