We all are well aware about India’s ace sprinter Mlikha Singh. He made it big and was so fast that it was pretty impossible to beat him and his score. Not only that he was also called, “The Flying Sikh” just because of his caliber.
But this story is not about Milkha Singh, it’s about the only man who was able to beat Milkha Singh in a 400m race. And apparently, he was the only Indian to do so. The name is Makhan Singh.
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Makhan Singh was born on 1 July 1937 in Bathulia, Punjab. He was interested in being a sprinter and sports from a very young age. Though he was so good at sports, poverty, lack of government support and infrastructure didn’t support him well. Later he joined the army and that actually helped him to have a wider scope when it came to sports. And that is how his entire sports journey started.
Makhan Singh first achievement was during a race back in 1959 by winning a bronze held in Cuttack at the National Games
After that game, he started breaking records and reaching the big fields. In 1960 during an event, Makhan Singh won gold. The event was for a short sprint and he won a silver in the 300m race. But that doesn’t end his bag of achievements. In 1962 he won around 4 gold medals.
The big thing came when Makhan Singh defeated Milkha Singh
Flying Sikh Milkha Singh was defeated in the 400 metres race at the 1962 National Games in Kolkata by Makhan Singh. Defeating the national players was just a cup of tea for Makhan and he could easily do it. In one of his interviews Milkha Singh said,
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“If there is one person I feared on the track, it was Makhan. He was a superb athlete, who brought the best in me. I would rate him even higher than Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq.”
Milkha Singh. newsroompost
Makhan Singh achievements
His list of medals stood at a count of 12 golds, 3 silver, and 1 bronze. The achievements were enough to prove how good he was at his forte. And all this was between the years 1959 to 1964.
During the 1962 Asian Games, Makhan Singh was glorified internationally. By participating and playing the 4x400m relay race and bagging the gold medal. He was the face of the nation by then. In the 1964 Tokyo Olympics he was part of Indian men’s 4x100m relay team as well as the 4x400m relay team. Makhan Singh was awarded with Arjuna Award in 1964.
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Makhan Singh receives the Arjuna Award from President Dr S Radhakrishnan in 1964. tribuneindia
The fall of legend
But the tables turned after that. Not everything has a nice ending, just like Makhan did not have a nice ending. Despite what he did for the nation, how good he was at his area of interest, nothing favored and worked at his side.Â
1972 was the year when Makha resigned from the army as a Subedar. He started driving trucks for pick-up and delivery of goods. He married Salinder Kaur in 1974 and had three children, Inderpal Singh, Gurwinder Singh and Parminder Singh.
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Everything was going well till 1990 until Makhan Singh injured his foot with a piece of glass. He had diabetes so doctors suggested removing the part just to avoid infection and spread it across the body making it more dangerous. The surgery and post-surgery required a lot of money. Though he was an international name, by then he was forgotten and he was in deep poverty.
As it became impossible for him to drive a truck, Singh opened a stationery shop in the village of Chabbewal and used to cycle 3 km to reach it.
There wasn’t any financial support around him. In 2002 he died since he did not receive proper medication after the surgery.
Makhan Singh. Zee News/YouTube
Makhan Singh family still struggling
His wife had to put Makhan Singh awards on sale to run her family expenses. Son Inderpal and Gurwinder passed away due to illness and lack of medical support in 2013 and Parminder is physically challenged who works as Sewadar in Hoshiarpur BDPO’s office and earns salary of Rs 7000.The family receives an Army pension of Rs 14,000.
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Salinder Kaur, wife of Makhan Singh (right), with the medals and trophies won by him. Her daughter-in-law Manpreet Kaur is also in the picture. tribuneindia
Makhan Singh story is tragic and shows how our athletes are neglected.
Also read: 11 Of India’s Greatest Athletes Who Suffered Due To Poverty And Basic Government Support
