Milkha Singh death anniversary: When 'Flying Sikh' almost created history at 1960 Olympics

While exactly a year has passed since the sad demise of legendary Indian track and field sprinter Milkha Singh, his name continues to be remembered all across the country for his laurels in the sport. Singh, who was famously known as 'The Flying Sikh,' narrowly missed out on a medal in the 400m race at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Milkha Singh almost scripted history at Rome Olympics

After Milkha Singh scripted history at the 1958 Asian Games by winning the gold medal by defeating then Asia's fastest athlete, Abdul Khaliq, Indians had their hopes high that The Flying Sikh would replicate a similar level of performance at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Despite leading the 400m race until the halfway point at the 1960 Olympics, Milkha failed to win a medal after easing off towards the end.

With Milkha coming so close to scripting history on that occasion, losing out on an Olympic medal hurt him for a long time. According to Olympics.com, the Flying Sikh said that he knew what his 'fatal error' was, stating, "After running perilously fast in lane five, I slowed down at 250m and could not cover the lost ground after that, and that cost me the race."

The Flying Sikh began the race in an emphatic fashion as he kept his lead for most of the first half of the sprint. However, he slowed down due to an error in judgement, allowing Malcolm Spence of South Africa to pass him. Spence eventually went past Milkha and grabbed the bronze medal in 45.5 seconds, while the Flying Sikh finished just 0.1 seconds slower in fourth. The race was eventually won by Otis Davis of the United States, who finished the sprint in 45.9 seconds.

With Milkha coming so close on that occasion, his son Jeev Milkha Singh explained in an interview to Olympics.com that his father's 'fatal error' continued to haunt him even years after the Rome Olympics had passed.

"He says that it was the biggest mistake of my life and that he cannot forgive himself," explained Jeev Milkha Singh. "It is the only thing that leaves a bad taste in his mouth because he believes it was poor race management from a top athlete who should have won the gold medal."