The Race of My Life: An Autobiography by Milkha SinghMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
No matter what hand life deals you, one should always strive to be positive and take life headstrong. This is the gist of Milkha Singh's life. Right from his torn childhood during partition, life in army to being asia's number one athlete, Milkha Singh gives us strength and the positivity to combat the mundane existence of ordinary life. Hope and despair are two things that are deeply entwined in his initial years where he tries to pick himself up from the ruins of partition. Drifting through most of his childhood and youth, it was only when he joined the army that he got some sense of direction. There he was identified and lauded for his sporting acumen and the laurels it brought to his regiment.
Fast forward to 1956 and he is part of the Indian Olympic contingent to Australia. Having never been exposed to the brilliance of world class athletes, he failed to make a mark. It is post the 1956 Olympics that he set himself a clear goal of winning the 400 metres race. Enroute, he won a lot of races including the ones at National games ,Commonwealth Games where he set an altogether new record. Going into the 1960 Olympics, most anticipated Milkha Singh to win the 400 meters event and best the all time record. The fairytale eventually ended with him finishing 4th.Post 1960, his life as a runner took backstage and settled into oblivion. Post his voluntary retirement from army, he joined Punjab govt as a Sports administrator with a vision to identify and nurture bright sportsmen from a very young age. In this duration, he married Nimmi and settled down in Chandigarh. Even post his retirement, he continued to push for an overhaul of the sporting infrastructure and result oriented model to coaching staff.
From the various stages of his life, one can learn to never give up and pick oneself up from all setbacks. It is the waxing and waning of life through which one has wade through and make a mark
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment