Milkha singh flag off the marathon in Faridabad on World heart day by Sanjay Chaturvedi

‘I wish I can see at least one young Milkha Singh bring laurels to the country before I die’, said the ‘flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh in Faridabad on Sunday. Milkha Singh, not being in very good health has come to Faridabad to flag off the marathon organized in the city on the occasion of World Heart Day. The marathon, which was in two categories of 6 km and 3 km started at 7.30 and 7.40 am respectively from Sports complex, Sector-12, Faridabad  and passed through Labour Chowk, Community Centre, Gymkhana Club, Sector 15 and back to the Sports Complex. Once at the Sports Complex, all participants were served refreshments.  A total number of more than 3000 participated in the marathon, coming from all the walks of life.

According to the studies, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of deaths all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 17.3 million people die from CVDs annually, representing 30% of all global deaths. By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die annually from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke, said Dr. D.K.Baluja, president QRG Medicare. Thus, in line with its patient-centric philosophy, QRG has taken a number of initiatives to spread awareness about heart related diseases and spread the message of leading a healthy and active lifestyle, added Baluja.

While talking to this reporter the legendary runner, Milkha Singh said that he is proud to see the large number of people from all age groups coming to participate in Marathon. He said that regular exercise can only make any individual healthy and determined towards his goal. He also cited the example of Shweta Chaudhary, the Faridabad shooter who has brought laurels to the country and the city in the ongoing Asian Games. Talking about determination to change the destiny he also cited the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who started his life from a humble background of a tea vendor and now has emerged as a global leader full of commitment and determination.  Replying to a question he also said that the sports federations are ruled by the non-sporting people in our country.  He said that even if the current system prevails, at least technical person from the sport must be added to the federations so that the interest of the sports fraternity is secured.

Talking about his personal life the flying Sikh said that tears came out of his eyes thrice in his life. The first incident was when his parents died in Pakistan, the second one was when he couldn’t take a gold in the Rome Games and the third incident when the tears fell from his eyes was when he saw the film ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’. He said the movie has depicted his life rightly.

While the organizers made all arrangements for a smooth event, there were complaints of mismanagement by the participants. Even media people were seen struggling with odds to meet Milkha Singh. The participants accused the organizers of not providing the batch number and t-shirts to the participants as planned, due to which many participants were not able to participate in the marathon. Participants also accused the organizers of not providing refreshment at every kilometer as they were assured at the time of registration.  Setting aside all the complaints the event was a good motivating one for the city. More such events may promote the habit of physical exercise in the people.