Jeev Milkha Singh

Padma Shri Jeev Milkha Singh is the first Indian golfer to become a member of the European Tour. The son of the famous Indian Athlete, the flying Sikh, Milkha Singh, Jeev Milkha Singh is the highest Indian golfer in the world, breaking into the top 100. He was born on 15 December 1971.
For celebrity sons it has often been a Hobson’s choice. A one-way road to whatever they want to be, only one pair of shoes at the start of the road for them to slip into, which usually belongs to their fathers. Many accept this as ordained and pick up their father’s tracks.

Others like Jeev Milkha Singh go their own way and try and match up to the caliber of their fathers. Jeev has had two people to match up to—his father, the great Milkha Singh and his mother, Nirmal Kaur who too was the former captain of the Indian volleyball team.
Jeev Milkha Singh wants to earn the same respect in the sporting arena as his celebrity parents. And he is nearly there. As India’s best golfer he is moving from strength to strength. Jeev’s career has seen a steep ascent in the last three years. From a European ranking of 104 he has climbed to the 48th. Position—the first Indian ever to do so.

A graduate in golf from the U.S., Jeev sees a steady rise in popularity of the sport in India. "What we need are academies and colleges which tap talent and professionally train young people. Only then will we get world class champions." Now that he himself has become the highest ranked Indian in golf, what more does he want to achieve? “I want to win the British Open and the U.S.Masters," says Jeev in an interview.

He is the first Indian golfer to play in the Masters. He said it was always his dream but now it is a reality. His father Milkha Singh is one of the most famous athletes India has produced who broke the world record for 400 metres in the 1960 Olympics heats in Rome and was favourite for the final. But he made an error in that race when at 250m he checked his speed, as he believed he was going too fast. That cost him valuable time and probably the race. He lost the bronze in a photo-finish, but did win a Commonwealth Games gold. They called him "the Flying Sikh" and even now people shout out to him in the street.

Jeev was named Indi0061n Sportsman of the Year in 2006. it was a shock for him because he believed that the prize almost always goes to a cricketer, or perhaps a hockey player, and for a golfer to win was fantastic.
He is conferred with PADAM SHRI. It is given out by the president for contributions in arts, education, literature, sport… all fields. It is the equivalent of the knighthood in Britain.
He started playing in Chandigarh, his home town, when he was about nine. His father took him to the course and he would pull his father’s trolley and play a few shots. Then he became hooked. He ended up going to college in America and turned pro in 1993. He played on the Asian Tour until becoming the first Indian to get a European Tour card, in 1998. He has played with Tiger woods as well.

Jeev is not a cricket fan. He said he don’t follow any sport- just golf. He did play cricket when he was kid and always like to see his country do well.