India should be thankful to Krishna, says Milkha

NEW DELHI - India should be thankful to discus thrower Krishna Punia for the second athletic gold she won for the country Monday at the Commonwealth Games after he won 52 years ago, said the legendary athlete Milkha Singh said.

Milkha, who won the first Commonwealth Games gold medal in athletics at the 1958 Cardiff Games, was overwhelmed to see Krishna, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil making it a gold-silver-bronze at the majestic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

“I have been waiting eagerly for years to see if someone else can join me as a gold medal winner at the Games. It feels great to see Krishna getting the second gold after me and that too at home. It is an historic day for Indian sports,” Milkha told IANS.

Milkha, who missed the Olympic bronze at the Rome Olympics in 1960 by 0.1 seconds, said what made Krishna’s gold more valuable was that all the Indians made it to the podium.

“I felt proud to see all the three ladies on the podium, I had goose bumps. It is an historic moment for India in every respect. I wonder when I will see such a moment again in my life.

“The girls should be grateful to their parents and coaches, without whose efforts they couldn’t have got on to the podium,” he said.

Milka, however, was not impressed with India’s performance in the track and field events.

“Since the Games are being held in India, I expected at least 8-10 gold medals from our athletes. I wish we had won more medals at home,” he said.

Milkha hoped that the performance of the trio will inspire the next generation of Indian athletes.

“I firmly believe that Krishna, Harwant and Seema will continue to inspire the next generation of Indian athletes. Hopefully we will see more Krishnas in the near future and win an Olympic medal in the not too distant future,” he said.