Revealed: Why India Are Wearing Black Armbands In The WTC Final

The much-awaited ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand has finally got underway at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton on what is effectively the second day of the Test match.

The Indian Cricket Team is wearing black armbands as a mark of respect towards the greatest athlete that this country has ever produced, Milkha Singh, who succumbed to Covid last night after a month-long battle with the contagion.

#TeamIndia is wearing black armbands in remembrance of Milkha Singhji, who passed away due to COVID-19. ?#WTC21

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2021

Born in modern-day Pakistan in 1929, Milkha Singh was the epitome of someone who never gave up despite the odds stacked against him.

Having run away to Delhi following the massacre of his parents by a Muslim mob at the time of partition,  Milkha Singh proceeded to become the greatest athlete that the country has ever produced.

Singh, who got introduced to the sport during his time with the Indian Army, is the only athlete to win a gold medal in a 400-m race in both the Asian Games and the Commonwealth games.

He also won gold in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games while representing the country in 1956, 1960, and 1964 Summer Olympic games.

The race for which the ‘Flying Sikh’ is most remembered is the 1960 Rome Olympics race where he made a rare error of judgment and finished 4th.

Milkha Singh, who was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian sports.

He was awarded the title of the ‘Flying Sikh’ by then Pakistani Gen. Yahya Khan after he beat the then fastest runner in Asai, Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq, in a 200-m race at the Asian Games.

The ‘Flying Sikh’ has now flown to heaven to reunite with his wife, Nimrat Kaur, who succumbed to Covid, five days ago.

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