PM Narendra Modi spoke about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and paid tribute to legendary athlete Milkha Singh in his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat. PM Modi urged India to motivate and cheer for the sportspersons representing the country at the Tokyo Olympics.

PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to legendary Milkha Singh in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ (Courtesy: Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly radio broadcast “Mann Ki Baat” referred to the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics and lauded the contributions of legendary Milkha Singh, who recently passed away following Covid-19 illness.

“When talking about the Olympics, how can we not remember Milkha Singh Ji. When he get hospitalized, I got a chance to speak to him, I had requested him to motivate the athletes going for Tokyo Olympics,” said Modi.

Milkha Singh, popularly known as the Flying Sikh, breathed his last in Chandigarh on June 18. The 91-year-old had contracted Covid-19 a month back and lost his wife Nirmal Kaur to the virus on June 10.

In his stellar career, Milkha ran many memorable races in his career. The Flying Sikh, as he is popularly known, is best remembered for his 400m race at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he became the first Indian male to reach the final of an Olympic event. Milkha was leading that race but eventually missed out on a podium-finish after trailing by 0.1 seconds. Despite finishing fourth, Singh set a new national record that remained untouched for 38 years. Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.

He was also the first athlete to win a Commonwealth Games gold for India in then 440m yard race, achieving the feat during the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Milkha’s first commonwealth gold was truly a watershed moment in Indian sporting history, which led to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declaring a national holiday on his request.

PM Modi also spoke about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, asking the youth to take part in such international competitions.

PM Modi urged India to motivate and cheer for the sportspersons representing the country at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Every athlete who is going to Tokyo has worked hard. They are going there to win hearts. It must be our endeavour to support our team and not put pressure on the team,” he said.