Entire Indian contingent waited for medal: Randhawa recalls race of Milkha Singh's life in Rome
The 91-year-old ‘Flying Sikh’, who passed away in Chandigarh on Friday after battling COVID-related complications, was expected to soar the highest at the 1960 Rome Olympics but missed the podium by 0.1 seconds, an unforgettable heartache that he carried for the rest of his life.
Hurdler Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, Milkha’s 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games teammate and one of the few surviving athletes to have witnessed the memorable 400m race in person, vividly remembers how it had all built up at the Italian capital.
“I was very much there, the entire Indian contingent was there in anticipation of history being created. Everybody was expecting a medal from him. Everybody was waiting (for the race) with bated breath,” the 82-year-old recalled in a conversation with .
“He was in top form, his timing was among the best in the world that time. Gold or silver was difficult for him but everybody was sure that he would at least win a bronze. He was capable of that,” he added.
But Milkha missed the bronze by a whisker, clocking 45.6 seconds, 0.1 seconds more than third-place finisher Malcolm Spence of South Africa, whom he had beaten to win the gold in the 1958 Commonwealth Games.
