Foreign coaches brought banned substances to India: Milkha Singh

NAGPUR: Having inspired millions of his countrymen and the new generation after the release of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ the Flying Sikh has one last wish — to see an Indian athlete bring home an Olympic gold.
It took 40 long years for the legendary athlete Milkha Singh to come back to Orange City. He was in the city on Sunday for the concluding ceremony of Mazee Metro Nagpur Marathon and the LIT college ground on Amravati Road was buzzing with energy and excitement on a pleasantly cool Sundaymorning in the presence of a large number of running enthusiasts.In an exclusive interaction with TOI, the Padmashree awardee spoke at length on how one needed to change one’s mindset regarding sports in India.
Milkha Singh, in his late eighties, is eagerly hoping that someone would fulfil his dream of winning an Olympic gold during his lifetime. Our performance abroad is measured against how well we perform in athletics. “My dream is to see an Indian athlete win a gold medal in Olympics before I close my eyes. Though India has clinched medals in several sports in Olympics, the country is yet to produce a single medal in athletics since Independence. It (Olympic medal) slipped from me during the 1960 Rome Olympics and it’s my wish to see one of my compatriots win a gold at the Games in track and field. I want to see the tricolor going up to the national anthem at the Olympics.”
“Haath ki lakiron se zindagi nahi banti, Azam humara bhi kuchh hissa hai zindagi banane mein…,” with these words Milkha strolled down memory lane and shared how running happened to him. “I could hardly attend school. I ran barefoot. I didn’t have much at all. I learnt everything on the go. Nobody knew Milkha Singh and I survived at the railway station without food for some days amid dead bodies. I was rejected by the Army thrice before I got in through the recommendation of my elder brother. Whatever I achieved was only because of my hard work. My coach would ask me do one extra lap of 400m even if I was dead tired after countless laps of running. Only will power, character, discipline and hard work can produce champions,” said Milkha.
Coming down heavily on foreign coaches and the use of banned substance by young athletes, Milkha said, “Doping is spreading like cancer. In my time there was no use of banned substance. Nowadays, dope abuse is spreading at school competitions. I wish to ask, from where do these substances enter India? Who gives them to athletes? They are getting it either from their coaches or doctors. With introduction of foreign coaches, banned substances entered India and doping was introduced to our athletes. If an athlete is caught, we have to punish the coach and the doctor too. Only then can we curb this menace,” he said.
Milkha said though there had been significant improvement in terms of infrastructure in comparison to what was available two to three decades back, the will to create and nurture sportspersons lacked vision, strategy and implementation. “Our country is filled with talent from all fields. In sports alone, I see so many youngsters who crave to excel but for some reasons fall short of money and right guidance. Needless to say, there is a lack of motivation to add to their distress,” the Flying Sikh signed off.