The Race of My Life (16 page)

In 1987, when he was fifteen and in Class 9, he participated in the Doug Sanders golf scholarship selections. He won at each stage of the event: first, the India selection held at the Delhi Golf Club, followed by the Asian selection in Melbourne, concluding with the final selection in Aberdeen. Being awarded the Doug Sanders golf scholarship at the Abilene Christian University, in Houston, Texas, meant that Jeev could combine formal education with a sports curriculum.

All this travelling around meant that he was missing classes at school and he still had to complete his education. The Shivalik Public School, however, was most supportive, and arranged extra classes and special tuitions for him. He completed his Class 10 at this school, and then transferred to DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh, for the final two years. In 1991 he passed out of DAV College and left for a new life in Houston, Texas.

Jeev’s years in the United States were highly successful ones. He played several NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) division tournaments where he represented his university. I was filled with pride when he won the NCAA II Division championship and when his team came first in the Inter-University Golf Championship in 1993. In the same year, he graduated from Abilene Christian University with an associate degree in business administration and returned to India where he turned pro. Thereafter, he won numerous tournaments on the Asian and European tours. He was also the first Indian to qualify for the European Tour. My hopes for my son had exceeded all expectations.

Today, I am glad that Dharma Vira persuaded me to start playing golf, because it was my fascination for the game that lured Jeev to it. His quick aptitude and inherent skill combined with his passion and determination have made him the gifted sportsman that he is. When I accompany Jeev on his tours, whether it is in India, Europe, the US or elsewhere, and walk beside him when he’s playing, my knowledge of the game allows me the freedom to offer not only fatherly advice but professional pointers as well. Besides, it is through him that I relive my days of glory. I was on cloud nine when Jeev was given the Arjuna Award (1999) followed by the Padma Shri (2007).

It has been an amazing journey and today, I am a proud husband, father and grandfather. Nimmi and I keep ourselves busy running the Milkha Charitable Trust in Chandigarh, where we provide humanitarian services to the poor and needy, particularly penniless sportspeople and their families. These are causes that are very close to our hearts.

My children have brought me immense happiness, and though Aleeza and Mona live in the United States, we are as close as if they lived next door. Mona is a doctor, fulfilling my wish that my children would have professional careers. I have five grandchildren—Aleeza’s daughter Shaina is now twenty-one years old and her son Ishaan is thirteen, Sonia has twins, a boy and a girl, Amaan and Amaanat who are six, Jeev’s son Harjai Milkha Singh is the youngest and is just three. Their future lies ahead, and they are content in knowing that both Nimmi and I will always be there for them, loving and supporting them through the passage of life.

lthough I had retired from the track in 1964, I was still much in demand on the international circuit, and would be invited to attend events and meets all over the world. I was there in Munich for the 1972 Olympics and witnessed the tragic shooting of eleven members of the Israeli team, in what must be one of the dastardliest acts in the history of sports. With me in Munich was the celebrated American athlete, Jessie Owens, who had won three gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where the world saw, for the first time, the power of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Both were events where the very essence of sportsmanship was overshadowed and diminished by politics.

In 1980, I was the only Indian sportsperson to be as chosen by the United Nations to carry a torch for peace throughout the world. Only the best runners from each country were given the privilege to participate in this humanitarian relay. I remember running along the Great Wall of China, and handing the torch over to the presidents of Nigeria and Kenya, as well as to Giani Zail Singh, who was then president of India.

When Delhi hosted the 1982 Asian Games, I had the honour of lighting the torch at the newly constructed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. After the ceremony was over, I was taken to the VIP enclosure and given a seat next to Rajiv Gandhi, his wife, Sonia, and her family. His mother and our prime minister, Indira Gandhi, was seated nearby.

We greeted each other cordially, and then Rajiv turned to his father- and brother-in-law and pointing at me, asked them, ‘Do you recognize this man?’ They looked blank, but when he explained that I had participated in the 1960 Rome Olympics, they exclaimed in excitement: ‘Oh, the saint!’ and asked for my autograph. During the Games, whenever I would appear from the tunnel that led into the stadium, the spectators would look at my long hair and beard, and cheer wildly, calling me a guru, a mendicant, a saint. It was that image that had remained in their minds for all these years.

I have always had a very close association with the Nehru– Gandhi family. Panditji loved sports and it was because of his influence that Delhi hosted the 1951 Asian Games. His daughter, Indira, would always joke with me about her running days when she was in school in Switzerland, and how she would always come first in the races. In 1982, at the Veterans’ Athletic Meet, she came up to the starting line, hitched up her sari and prepared to join the race. Her security guards were shocked, and pleaded with me to escort her back to the seating enclosure. Such are my warm memories of the Gandhi family.

In the thirty years that I worked in the sports department, first as deputy director of sports, and then director of sports and education, I initiated several projects to promote and improve the quality of sports in the state. Among them was the opening of about thirty or forty sports wings attached to schools and colleges in various districts. The objective was to search for talented young players at the village and district levels and encourage them to take up sports as a career.

We sent messages to the principals of all educational institutions asking them to identify young boys and girls who showed promise in the field of sports, be it hockey, football, volleyball, athletics and more. Officials from our department would visit the schools and check what facilities they offered, including playgrounds, gymnasiums, hockey fields and athletic tracks. The next step was to hold trials and select the best, who were then placed in specially-created sports wings, where the government provided them with free tuition, hostel facilities, food, training and equipment like tracksuits and sports kits. We set up tough practice schedules and hired qualified coaches who could supervise and monitor their progress. In this way, the budding sportspersons would receive training in sports, and at the same time, continue their education.

The process was further refined according to interest and specialization. If a boy or a girl showed potential in a specific field, whether it was gymnastics, hockey, football or athletics, we would send them to specially designated schools or areas where their talents could be further developed, like for example, Hoshiarpur, which specialized in football. There they could also participate in regular competitions and learn that healthy competitiveness went hand-in-hand with the spirit of sportsmanship. Our persistent efforts and zeal were rewarded and 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 400-metre champion and Mahinder Singh Gill, a triple jumper. Many of them participated in national-level games, and when they won they would be offered lucrative jobs by the railways, police, banks, and even corporate houses like Tata.

All my life, I have firmly believed that a strict training programme under the guidance of professional and competent coaches was the key to success, as well as will power and determination. Those were the principles that I stressed upon during the training period; they were, after all, the very mantras that I had lived by in my early years. I also believed that talent must be nurtured from a very young age for it to grow and flourish. If I hadn’t received the support and encouragement from the army when I was starting off, would I have reached the heights that I did?

During the summer vacations in May and June, the department held month-long summer camps in picturesque hill stations such as Srinagar, Simla, Manali, among others. We would book a stadium that had all sports facilities, and organize accommodation and make arrangements for food for almost five hundred boys and girls. The camps adhered to a strict schedule, beginning the day with prayers and a roll call. Thereafter, the time was spent on the field. The weather, fortunately, was cool and pleasant, so being outdoors was always invigorating. My role in the camps was to inspire and motivate each and every child and to convince them that the road to fame was not a bed of roses, that only hard work, dedication, will power and discipline would lead them to their destiny. I would tell them about my early life, about the relentless training schedules I had set for myself, about the toil and perseverance, all because of my overpowering desire to succeed in international events. Because I was so obsessed with training, I would oversee the programme to check if the coaches were being as diligent as they should.

I have very fond memories of the summer camps, particularly of the enthusiastic youngsters who never complained or tried to shirk their duties. I also remember with gratitude the help I received from Kashmir’s chief minister, Farooq Abdullah, and his father, Sheikh Abdullah, who welcomed me to Srinagar and provided me with all facilities while we were there, and General Gurbaksh Singh, who kindly allowed me to hold a camp in Shimla’s Annadale grounds, said to be the highest cricket ground in the world at that time. None of this would have been possible if I had been an unknown sports official. They knew and respected me, and above all, believed in what I was doing and never hesitated to extend every support they could to the cause.

Another policy I initiated in the early 1970s was to make the games period compulsory in every school in Punjab. I had learnt, to my horror, that since this period came at the end of the school day, it was the easiest one to bunk. I sent urgent appeals to all principals and physical training instructors throughout the state, telling them emphatically that it was their responsibility to ensure that all students attend this period, if they wanted their schools’ sports standards to improve. The purpose of the period was to teach children to play games, to train them, to tell them what the rules were, but if there were no attendees, the entire exercise would become a farce. I emphasized that it was up to the principals or instructors to set examples, and if they were sincere, committed, and above all, strict, the students would be equally dedicated.

Throughout my tenure, the message I repeatedly sent to all institutions and associations was that if we wanted to improve the quality of sports, not only in Punjab but also throughout India, we should all unite and work towards a common goal. But to achieve that goal, each of us should be sincere and dedicated, whether it was the athlete, the coach or the association. Halfhearted measures will not work. I travelled extensively across Punjab to spread my message. Wherever I went, people would come up to me, saying that my son is a good runner, or is keen on football, can you give him a chance? I would then test them and if they were truly talented, I would place them in the relevant sports wing. What drove me was my deep desire to pass on what I knew to young children. For that purpose, I have never rested in my mission.