“Meet my sweetheart wife, who is my heartbeat,” said Indian legendary sprinter Milkha Singh at his mentor’s Chandigarh Golf Club in 2007, Dr Arthur W Howard.
This was Milkha’s love for Nirmal and admiration. The evergreen couple that lost the fight against Covid-19 over a week will miss Chandigarh.
Milkha was the only sport athlete to win the 400m Asian race as well as the 1958 Commonwealth Games and since he settled in the City of Beautiful in the early 1960s he has been part of Chandigarh’s folklore.
The Indian track-and-field athlete was the first Indian to reach the final of an Olympic-Athletics event when fourth in the 400-meter race at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. The history of success, gumping, glory, devotion and discipline inspired a whole generation of athletes.
His commitment to living a fit and healthy lifestyle after retirement was incredible. His death marks the end of an era in many ways.
Former CGC president and friend RS Mann recalls how they first met in 1977 while playing golf at the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) greens. “I first met Milkha in 1973 and we bonded instantly. He was the director of sports in the Punjab ministry of education back then. A few years later, our interest in golf grew and we started playing together. He had so many stories to tell about the Partition, Rome Olympics and his stint in the army. Jeev grew in front of me and went on to become an international golf icon. Milkha and his wife always encouraged their son’s passion for golf and as a result Jeev turned out to be a star and has in turn inspired numerous children to take up golf.”
Golf aficionado
“Milkha was always very competitive, be it on the athletics field, golf greens or at the table playing cards. He frequently travelled to Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi for golf tournaments and had even played against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah!” says Mann.
“I would always be amazed to see Milkha’s charm and jovial attitude whenever he was playing golf with dignitaries, or senior politicians. His presence at the CGC, especially after the release of the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, attracted many eyeballs. For 55 years, he always had one beer at lunch and two glasses of whiskey at night,” adds Mann.
