'Wish you had lived till Tokyo Olympics': Rijiju on Milkha Singh last wish

Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju remembered sprint legend Milkha Singh after India won its first gold in athletics through Neeraj Chopra in Javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I'm in tears while posting this video. This is dedicated to you respected Milkha Singh Ji. I wish you had lived atleast till Tokyo Olympics to witness this fulfilling & special moment," Rijiju wrote on Twitter while sharing a video of Milkha Singh expressing his wish to see India win an athletics gold.

In the video posted by the former Sports Minister, Milkha Singh could be heard saying: "It's my last wish to see someone, man or woman to win a gold in athletics for India at Olympics. And to see the tricolor at the top, and hear the national anthem will make me happy."

Milkha Singh passed away on June 18 at the age of 91.

The 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra created history on Saturday as he became the first from the country to win a gold in track and field in the Olympics. He threw a distance of 87.58m to pick the gold.

India has now won seven medals in the multi-sporting event, its best-ever performance. In the ongoing Tokyo 2020, Bajrang Punia (Bronze), Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), men's hockey team ( bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) have also won medals.

Neeraj Chopra had announced his arrival in style in the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday when he threw a monstrous throw of 86.65m and automatically qualified for the final in his first attempt.