GURBACHAN SINGH RANDHAWA- A FORGOTTEN HERO

I was thinking for some of the outstanding athletes India has produced. Many a name crossed my mind. Suddenly a towering figure touched me and I decided to write an article on him. He possessed 4 national records at a time, first Asian to qualify for finals in Hurdles in 110 m in Tokyo, Best Asian athlete in 1962 Asian Games an Arjuna Award and Padma Shree winner. Hhis name is Gurbachan Singh Randhawa.
Born on June 6th, 1939 in Amritsar in a Sikh family, he was an athlete of acumen form very early age. His father and all his 3 brothers were sportsmen. He trained at Khalsa College Amritsar and Government College Lahore. He was an all rounder of Athletics, be it throw, jump or race. He was a leader in all the disciplines. His coach, judging his outstanding talent, advised him to participate in Decathlon.
At an early age of 18, he shattered the 6000 point mark and later touched 6500 marks. It makes him eligible to participate in Rome Olympics of 1960 in Decathlon. Much of the limelight was taken by Milkha Singh who came 4th in 400 meters after breaking Olympic record. Gurbachan, somewhat inexperienced, couldn’t live up to expectation. He gave all of his energy on day one of the two day event. Eventually, high temperature caught him up after day one of the event and he couldn’t finish event the next day.
It could have shattered an ordinary figure, but young Gurbachan was of a man of difference. He mustard courage and concentrated hard on Decathlon again. In 1962 Asian Games he crossed 6600 mark. It gave him the Gold medal. But that was not enough. He was also adjudged ‘Best Asian Games Athlete’ in the same Games. But soon after the Asian Games, he heard his inner voice and quit Decathlon. It shocked many, but he was adamant. He started concentrating on 110 meters hurdles. He was consistently clocking a timing of 14.3 second in that particular event. It was among the top ten timing of the world then.
In Tokyo Olympics’64, he competed in 110 meters hurdles only. He was prepared to take medal out of the pack of 37 competitors. He won the heat and in Semi- finals, he was the fastest loser to qualify. By then, he has improved his timing to 14.1 seconds and a hope for medal was running high.
On the day of the final, nature showed its fury. It started raining in Tokyo and temperature dipped to 14 degrees with humidity up to 96 percent. The athletic track was drenched and conditions were worse than expected. Gurbachan ran his heart out and lastly finished ahead of 3 only. All three athletes who came 3rd, 4th and 5th clocked the same timing and the result was declared by photo finish. It was heartbreak for India whose Milkha Singh came 4th in Rome and missed the medal. His 5th place in that event was the best performance by any Asian Athlete in that Olympics.
Till date, we are searching for a medal in Athletics track and field in Olympics. Gurbachan Singh Randhawa was a member of ‘Dream Team of Indian Athletics’ in 1960s. He has no regrets from life, but to be honest, he has not got the accolades from the nation, what he truly deserves. It’s a pity that he was awarded with Padma Shree in as late as 2005.