Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan took to social media on Sunday to remember athletics legend Milkha Singh, who passed away on Friday. Bachchan shared the last page from Milkha Singh's autobiography, titled, "The Race of My Life: An Autobiography" on Twitter. Sharing the page, the actor wrote: "The last page of Milkha Singh's book .. An inspiration for all.."
The page reads: "My final words would be: life as a sportsperson is hard, and there will certainly be times when you might be tempted to quit, or take shortcuts-- but remember there are no shortcuts to success. At such times you should try and derive inspiration from this Urdu couplet:
"Mita de apni hasti ko agar koi martaba chahe, ki dana khak mein mil kar gul-gulzar hota hai...
"Destroy your entire existence if you want to reach the zenith, 'cos a seed has to become one with the dust to sprout and blossom into a flower."
Legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh, popularly known as "Flying Sikh", breathed his last in a Chandigarh hospital late on Friday, where he was being treated for Covid-related complications. On June 13, Milkha's wife Nirmal had passed away. A former India volleyball captain, she was 85, and she too was affected by Covid and related complications.
Mourning his demise, Bachchan had tweeted on Saturday: "In grief .. Milkha Singh passes away .. the pride of India .. a great athlete .. a greater human .. Waheguru di Mehr .. prayers."
The sad demise of the legendary athlete has left a void in people's hearts. Many took to social media to express their sadness. Bollywood celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar, Raveena Tandon, Angad Bedi, Madhur Bhandarkar and others also extended their condolences on the death.
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Milkha Singh became popular when he clocked 45.6 seconds to finish fourth at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Until that time, it was the closest that an Indian athlete had come to winning an individual Olympic medal.
