Milkha Singh, the lucky one with a rare blessing

India’s sprint legend Milkha Singh. Pic/AFP

Milkha Singh is a rare blessed great in Indian sport, able to enjoy respect and adulation across generations when he was still among us.

Tributes will continue to pour in till the Tokyo Olympics next month and after for this Olympic sprinter. Real-life experiences were so gripping for the common man
that a movie was scripted, shot and released to be enjoyed when the athletics achiever was healthy and agile, in body and mind, to see the film being made and savour the recognition post-release.

Appreciation from peers and purists, fans and federations, commoners and critics should happen to a sporting great when he/she is alive and awake rather than after the race of life is over.

All credit to Milkha

Milkha deserves all the ‘likes' he got after the movie was released across the nation and from the multiplying followers on other connectivity platforms.

The point to be driven home is that effort should be made to celebrate sporting achievement about a sportsperson when he/she is healthy enough to accept praise.

Milkha got involved in the movie-making, recreated moments from history for the crew, caught up with people from his competitive days in the process, interacted with others from the past who got in touch after a lifetime achievement became public knowledge.

He was present for the launch, got interviewed about the incidents depicted. Looking back at life, bitter and sweet moments, the struggle and success, would have
lifted his mood and radiated happiness among family members and close friends.

Give them attention

Every performer needs attention and appreciation in a positive way. For a sporting achiever with limited years when he/she can be at their absolute competitive peak
and win laurels for the sport, state and nation, post-retirement is difficult to handle for many. Indian sport has numerous newsmakers in their prime who now are faces in the crowd.

For each of them, recognition, maybe rewards, can do wonders for self-esteem and make him/her look forward to life. Humble great or a proud champion, a floral bouquet when alive and aware is more useful than floral tributes after passing away.

Movie-makers choose a script with care, everyone cannot run like the wind as Milkha did or overcame extreme tragedy to put India's name up there in the spotlight
across Asia and at the Olympics, as the Flying Sikh did at Rome in 1960.

Highlight special people

Let us celebrate anniversaries of landmark feats or sporting breakthroughs with write-ups, special shows on these special people living away from the spotlight so that younger generations who heard stories or browsed black & white images grasp the mighty deeds and applaud via ‘likes' and ‘hits'.

Having made their day, delighted families and friends with shared stories and episodes, let us do it when greats from our past are able to smile back in recognition, accept accolades when memories are refreshed about Indian sporting highs and the spotlight picks them out again. Tributes can flow afterwards, special issues and shows dedicated in remembrance.

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