Sikhs in Olympics

Sikhs and Olympics

Sikhs have been a part of the Olympic games since the 1928 Olympics held in Amsterdam.
Most of the participants as the Sikhs since the 1928 Olympics were the hockey players. Sikh boys and girls have been a part of Olympics games in other events too. This blog post covers the flying Sikh Milkha Singh, the torch bearer Fauja Singh and the Sikh hockey players who brought glory to the Sikhs and the nation.

Sikh Hockey Players in the Olympics

Balbir Singh Sr. at 1952 Olympic Games

Sikhs became the part of the Olympics since 1928 Amsterdam games with participation in Hockey. More than 130 Sikh players have been part of the hockey teams since the 1928 Olympic games. These hockey teams include teams of India, Canada, USA, Singapore, Scotland, Malawi, England, Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Great Britain, Hong Kong and Kenya. Since the 1928 Amsterdam games, Sikhs have been a part of 9 Gold medal winning teams. Sikh hockey players have been a part of every Indian Hockey team from 1928 till 2012 London Olympic games. The Olympic games to feature the most number of Sikh hockey players were the 1972 Olympic games at Munich. A total of 249 goals have been scored by the Sikh hockey players in Olympic hockey. 30 Sikh hockey players played from 4 different countries namely India, Kenya, Malaysia and Uganda. Sikhs have played at every position in hockey at Olympics.

Sikh hockey players hold a number of Olympic games records. Ajit Singh holds 2 records for a single goal in 1976 Olympic games. Ajit Singh holds the record for the first person to score a goal at an artificial pitch in Olympic hockey. Ajit Singh holds another record for the same goal as the fastest Olympic goal in hockey done in just 15 seconds after the start of the game. Gurmeet Singh did 5 goals in the record goal scoring game in which India beat America, 24 goals to 1. Balbir Singh Senior was the captain of the Indian hockey team to win 3 consecutive gold medals at the Olympic games. Balbir Singh Sr. was awarded Guiness world record for the individual scoring most number of goals in a final match of Olympics hockey. Balbir Singh Senior did 5 goals in the final match in which India beat Holland 6-1 at 1952 Olympics. 

Milkha Singh

'The Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh

Milkha Singh, born on 8th October, 1935 had been a part of 2 Olympic games as an Athlete. Milkha Singh participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where he was not able to do much. After that, Milkha Singh participated in the Commonwealth Games and won gold medal. This was the first Gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games. Milkha Singh's performance on the Pakistan's tracks, gave him the name 'The Flying Sikh'. In 1960 Olympics hosted by Rome, Milkha Singh came 2nd in all the 200m races before the finals. In the finals of 200m, Milkha Singh broke the world record for 200 metres race in Athletics but unfortunately missed the bronze medal by the 100th fraction of a second. Milkha Singh came at 4th spot in the finals of 1960 Rome Olympics. His son Jeev Milkha Singh is associated with golf and is one of the top golfers of the world.

Fauja Singh - Torch Bearer at Olympics

Fauja Singh

Fauja Singh, born on 21 July 1911 has made all the Sikhs and Indians around the world proud for his great achievements in Marathon events. Fauja Singh is 101 year old Marathon runner. Recently, Fauja Singh carried the Olympics torch in Newham, England. This is not the first time for the Fauja Singh to become the Olympics torch bearer. Fauja Singh also carried the Olympics torch during the Athens Olympics in 2004.

So far, Sikhs have helped multiple nations achieve gold medal in the Olympics hockey. There had been a lot of other Sikh participants in the Olympics so far. But still a lot more needs to be done by the Sikhs in the world of sports. Born as Sikhs, boys and girls are getting addicted to drugs and spoiling their lives in a lot of other useless acts. We need to take a lot of steps for the growth of Sikh sportsmen in the various games to mark the presence of Sikhs in the Olympics.