Quotes from Milkha Singh

I enjoyed watching 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' very much. Many such sports films should be made so that the upcoming generation draws inspiration from the sportspersons of our country, win medals at the Olympics and Asian Games, and make India proud.

Today, Jamaica is known because of just one man - Usain Bolt. Not many Indians have managed to reach the finals of track and field events at the Olympics and that says it all.

Athletics needs more focus because it is the heart and soul of any Olympics.

Every morning I would rise at the crack of dawn and after the usual ablutions, would get into my sports kit and dash off to the track, where I would run two or three miles cross-country, in the company of my coach.

The new generation I feel does not know about Milka Singh, they don't know about the hard work I did, what struggles I went through, in Pakistan and India, they know just the name.

A lot is expected from athletes but we need good coaches as well.

I did not even know what athletics was; the Army taught me everything.

I am happy with the Padma Shri. What difference does it make to me if I am now given a higher Padma Award?

My parents had a small piece of land to earn a living from, but my father always wanted to educate his children.

I came from a remote village, I didn't know what running was, or the Olympics.

We were from a village that's now in Pakistan's Muzaffargarh district, in Kot Addu tehsil. Our village was 10 km away from the city. The boys had to walk barefoot for 10 km from the village to the school in Kot Addu.

Athletics talent is more prominent in the villages than in the urban areas because the main factor determining the difference is hard work which is an integral part of an athlete's training.

If you look at history of athletics in the country almost all champions have hailed from the villages.

I don't even know when my father admitted me to school. During those days in villages, people did not remember the exact date a child was born. It was usually only the season that they remembered.

There are three legends in sports - Dhyan Chand, myself and Sachin Tendulkar. People will always remember three of us in Indian Sports.

I am happy that my son has been responsible for putting India on the world map in golf.