First Indian to win gold in Commonwealth Games. (Photo- GETTY)
Commonwealth Games 2026: The excitement of Commonwealth Games 2026 is going to start once again. This time the beautiful city of Scotland, Glasgow, is going to host this mega multi-sports event. From the 1934 London Commonwealth Games to the 2022 Birmingham Games, India’s performance on this stage has been spectacular. India has so far won a total of 564 medals in the history of the Commonwealth Games, which includes 203 gold, 190 silver and 171 bronze medals. But do you know who and when won India’s first gold medal in the history of Commonwealth Games?
First Indian to win gold in Commonwealth Games
India’s medal account in the Commonwealth Games was opened in the 1934 London Games itself. Wrestler Rashid Anwar had won the silver medal for India in wrestling. However, India had to wait a long time for 24 years to taste its first gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. The work of ending this long wait of India was done by the country’s great sprinter Milkha Singh. Milkha Singh, popularly known as Flying Sikh, took part in the 440 yards race in the Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff in 1958.
The whole country rejoiced with pride
In this tough competition, Milkha Singh displayed exciting speed and stamina and completed the race in just 46.71 seconds and secured the first position. He won the gold medal by defeating South African veteran athlete Malcolm Clive Spence. With this performance, Milkha Singh gave India its first gold medal in the history of Commonwealth Games. When the tricolor was hoisted on the grounds of Cardiff and the national anthem was played, the entire country was filled with pride.
This victory of Milkha Singh was not limited to just one medal, it proved the strength of Indian athletics at the international level and from there began the historic flight of the Flying Sikh’s golden career, which inspired many generations to come and he became an immortal star of the Indian sports world. Let us tell you, Milkha Singh was born on 20 November 1929 in Govindpura village of Punjab state of British India. Today this place falls in Pakistan. Apart from 1 Commonwealth Games gold medal, he also won 4 gold medals in the Asian Games during his career.
