Remembering Abdul Khaliq, The Flying Bird Of Asia And Milkha Singh's Arch-Rival On The Track
Most of us saw the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag were the life of iconic athlete Milkha Singh made its way to the big screen. Farhan Akhtar played the role to perfection. In the biopic there are references to a Pakistani athlete called Abdul Khaliq. Milkha shared a healthy rivalry with him on the track and it is that man we wish to talk about.
Khaliq has been pretty much forgotten by Pakistan since his death in 1988, but the man was once the fastest runner in Asia. Jawaharlal Nehru was so mesmerised by him in the 1954 Asian Games that he called him The Flying Bird of Asia. On that occasion he won the 100m gold medal and the 4x100m relay silver.
Khaliq and Milkha hada huge rivalry, stemming from the relationship of their respective nations. But Milkha has beaten Khaliq in all races though some have been very close.
The man was quick and has 63 international medals to prove it. He has won a lot of laurels both in Asian and Commonwealth Games. Khaliq, who served in the Pakistan army, also took part in the World Military Games. The man took part in 2 Asian Games and 2 Olympics and pretty much put Pakistan on the map as far as athletics is concerned.
He took on the best and many times came out on top. Khaliq sadly was in his prime at the time when media was not that advanced. Had he been a modern athlete, his popularity would have been far and wide.
The tragedy is that he died a forgotten man despite having also coached Pakistan athletes. Truth be told, many of us would never have heard of him if not for Milkha Singh's biopic.
Nonetheless, Khaliq has a legacy to be proud of and ranks right up there with the best of the best.