Yograj Singh suggests Bharat Ratna for Milkha Singh

The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India (SJFI) on Saturday presented a gold medal posthumously to legendary athlete Milkha Singh in a smart ceremony at the Chandigarh Press Club here today. Former Test cricketer Yograj Singh was the chief guest. He handed over the Gold Medal 2022, a citation and stole, to Jeev Milkha Singh, son of Milkha Singh and a renowned golfer himself. The SJFI Gold Medal was instituted in 2018. The previous winners were tennis ace Vijay Amritraj, Badminton maestro Prakash Padukone and cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar. Known to the world as ‘Flying Sikh, Milkha won four gold medals at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo and in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. He was the first Indian to finish fourth in the men’s 400m run at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

He was chosen in the posthumous award category. Addressing the gathering, Yograj Singh, the father of former India star Yuvraj Singh, said, “Milkha was a great sportsperson and also a good friend of mine. During those days when I was dropped from the Indian squad and was very upset, he gave me great support. Milkha deserves Bharat Ratna.” It is pertinent to note that Yograj Singh played the role of Milkha Singh’s coach in the biopic ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag.’ Meanwhile, Jeev, who looked poignant at the function, admitted: “Yes, today I turned emotional.

I can’t describe in words the way SJFI honoured my father,” gushed Jeev. Jeev, the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of the official World Golf Ranking, said, “He treated everyone equally and always stood behind those who were dedicated, disciplined and hard working.” Jeev added: “During the time of COVID, I lost both my parents and I was so disheartened that I had decided to quit golf. Later I changed my mind. I will continue to play the game and try my best to win for them.” SJFI Secretary, Prashant Keni, and Treasurer, Partha Chakraborty, were present at the event which was hosted flawlessly by Punjab-Haryana Chandigarh Sports Journalists’ Association. The SJFI will have another programme on Sunday in New Delhi where Queen of Indian track, P.T. Usha, will be conferred with the Gold medal.