Chandigarh: A 28-feet-high statue of legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh is coming up in a village near Ludhiana to motivate youngsters to take up sports.
"A sports academy is raising the statue at a cost of Rs 7.5 lakh in village Jarkhar, about 10 km from Ludhiana," Singh told PTI.
"It will motivate young children take up sports besides promoting games in rural areas," the 'Flying Sikh' said.
The statue will be ready by the end of December and Singh has been invited by the academy to unveil it.
Singh said that many famous sportspersons have come up from rural areas, and the statue will serve as an inspiration.
"I was born and brought up in a village and most of the athletes, including Parduman Singh and Makhan Singh came from villages. Most of the hockey players also came from rural background," he said.
"The statue will inspire younger generation to take up sports, especially athletics and hockey."
He said the recent biopic on him, Bhag Milkha Bhag, was also successful in raising awareness regarding athletics and related sports.
