Milkha Singh returns to hallowed ground

Hyderabad: It was an emotional ‘homecoming’ for Milkha Singh. As the sun set and the car drove into the 1 EME Centre at Secunderbad, the sprint legend couldn’t help but get emotional recollecting the years spent at the barracks here  the years that shaped his athletics career. “This is where it all began,” said Singh, pointing to one of the barracks. “This is where I lived and ran along with the trains along the railway tracks (there were metre gauge trains back then).

“You see that mountain, that is where I did my preparations most of the time.“This is where I first started running. This place is my temple, my Gurudwara,” he said in an exclusive chat with this newspaper.True to his words, he kneeled and touched the ground as if it was a shrine. “I can’t thank the EME, the Army, enough for the love that these people have bestowed upon me,” the Flying Sikh said.

In honour of their hero, the Army inaugurated the Milkha Singh Stadium on Saturday.“I didn’t even know what 400 metres or 100 metres were. I was introduced to the metres system here. They told us to run five miles  back then it was only miles and not kilometres  and told us that the top 10 runners will get selected for further training to represent the Army and one day, the country,” the 200 metres 1958 Asian gold medallist said.

“I just ran. And I finished in the top 10. I still remember it very clearly, when I came back to my room my friends put me on their shoulders and congratulated. I was elated. And I never wanted to let them down,” Singh added.And then the journey began. He underwent training under Havaldar Gurudev Singh in Secunderabad.It has been 60 years since Singh retired, but India are yet to win an individual gold in athletics at the big stage.

“These days kids are not passionate. They lack will power to go all the way. They want to take the easy route. Also, the coaches sometimes don’t give their 100 per cent. “Agar aapko doosra Milkha chaiye toah gaon main jao. (If you need another Milkha, go to the villages). “Kids in the city can play cricket, badminton, tennis or football. Athletics is not their cup of tea.

“Pick up kids from the village if you need medals. Search for them from across the country and put them in a training academy, provide them food and care and see the results in three or four years,” Singh concluded.