Milkha Singh in the mirror: It's time to recognise other sports greats

A biopic on the life of Millkha Singh, titled “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, was released earlier this month. (Getty Images)

“How does it feel to have your story represented through one of the most widespread and powerful mediums across the world, after having put in a lifetime of dedication towards an act?”

That is one question that Milkha Singh would be able to answer very well, post a film that released in his name.

But the real question is, ‘What does it represent for Indian sport?’

There are many a ‘Milkha Singh’s that have passed upon the soil of this nation; and not all have had a chance at a tribute. It comes down to the fact that India has a dire need to acknowledge its sportsmen, and so sport.

Milkha Singh would have been a name just left synonymised with the age of Jawaharlal Nehru, along with his story, had it not been for this act by the film community.

However, while this initiative is encouraging, it only reflects the unfortunate circumstances that lie for sportsmen in India – an uphill struggle to be recognised, in return for all the dedication and sacrifice that one puts in each and every day.

And yet, it can be quite frustrating at the end of the day, to see that you are but only fighting a lone struggle while the rest of the world moves on. All that a sportsman looks for is recognition for the truth of one’s effort – winning is but only a subsidiary motive, aimed towards earning that respect.

The fact of India’s sport status comes into light, once we see the way in which nations such as Australia and Great Britain treat their sports people. Why must an Indian athlete feel and realise the lack and gap that exists in the way by which his nation approaches him every time he or she meets an athlete from another nation?

All the sweat and blood that a sportsperson puts in, literally, is to craft one being such that can outdo oneself under the guise of defeating the rest. And all that such an entity expects is some kind of a pat on the back – one, if not many.

But it does not happen.

There are lists of sportsmen, who deserve more than what they got (or get back) from who they served.

Indian sport needs a boost, not through the glamour that is blossoming in just about every game, but instead simply through a few simple ways to ensure that those who lay down themselves on this path get enough to not say that they committed a sin being a sportsman in this nation.

Perhaps, it is time to recognise the many ‘Milkha’s staring back through the reflection in the mirror, while Milkha stands in front of it.