Former steel city athlete and national medal winner remembers the Flying Sikh

N.C. Deb, a former sprinter and Jharkhand’s well-known starter, has fond memories of the Flying Sikh. After all, they had represented India together at an international meet way back in 1962.

With tears in his eyes, he recalled his association with Milkha Singh, who passed away on Friday night after battling Covid-19 for a month.  “I felt very sad after coming to know about Milkha Singh’s death. Tears rolled down my cheeks,” Deb,  a resident of Sidhgora, said. 

Saturday was a day of grief for the 84-year-old who is still active at an age when others of his age are battling ailments. 

“It was a matter of pride to rub shoulders with Milkha. During the National Games in New Delhi in 1960, I was very nervous while standing on the block for the 100 m spring. I was full of nerves watching other athletes (mostly from Punjab) on the lanes. Milkha was standing on the side of the tracks and saw me feeling nervous. Milkha shouted `Tu daud laga. Jeetne se bhi koi baat nah aur harne se bhi koi baat nahi. Dar mat (You run. No issue winning or losing. Don’t fear),” he recalled.

Deb said Milkha was a compassionate man, who remembered his friends. Impressed with his talent, Milkha asked Deb to join the month-long national camp in Jabalpur in 1962. “Milkha told me to work hard and concentrate without worrying about the result. He (Milkha) was a typical Punjabi who believed in sheer hard work. Training alongside a great athlete instilled lot of confidence in me,” he added.

“Milkha’s words of encouragement helped me win the 100m gold at the 1962 National Games in Jabalpur while representing Uttar Pradesh. I lived in Kanpur those days,” Deb added.

Deb and Milkha represented India in the dual athletics championship held in Singapur and Sri Lanka in 1962. “We ran together in the 4×100 m relay and won gold. Milkha was off in a flash as soon as I passed on the baton to him. It was always a great experience watching him run,” he said.

“I remember he (Milkha) visited Jamshedpur for inauguration of Tata Athletics Academy in May 2004. Milkha enquired about me from the then Tata Steel sports wing chief Satish Pillai. I met Milkha at a hotel in Bistupur. He hugged me and talked about olden days. He also enquired about my family and my health. I felt very proud that a celebrity athlete still remembered me. That was his modesty,” Deb, who lives with his wife and daughter, recalled.

The Flying Sikh also visited the steel city in connection with the 2003 Tata Open Golf Championship.

Deb still works as an athletics coach at Hill Top School in Telco. Deb has helped his wards win 104 medals – 90 gold, 36 silver and 22 bronze – in a span of a decade. His trainees have made podium finishes in national, zonal, regional and national school athletics competitions.