<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1964 Calcutta </Td> <Td> 400 m </Td> </Tr> <P> Milkha Singh (born between 1929 and 1935), also known as The Flying Sikh, is a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army . He was the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games . He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games . He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo . He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth - highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements . </P> <P> The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth - place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games, which he had entered as one of the favourites . He led the race till the 200m mark before easing off, allowing others to pass him . Various records were broken in the race, which required a photo - finish and saw American Otis Davis being declared the winner by one - hundredth of a second over German Carl Kaufmann . Singh's fourth - place time of 45.73 became the Indian national record and held for almost 40 years . </P> <P> From beginnings that saw him orphaned and displaced during the Partition of India, Singh has become a sporting icon in his country . In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath described Singh as "the finest athlete India has ever produced". In July 2012, The Independent said that "India's most revered Olympian is a gallant loser" and noted the paucity of success at that time--20 medals--achieved by Indian competitors in the Olympic Games despite the country having a population in excess of one billion . </P>

In which year did milkha singh win the first national title in the 400-m race