The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951. A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from eight sports and discipline. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. The 1951 Asiad were originally scheduled to be held in 1950, but postponed until 1951 due to delays in preparations. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games.
Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE was an English track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948 and the world professional title in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954. His ferocious will to win made him a household name in the 1950s, but he also surprised many with a comeback more than 20 years later, winning a British title in 1974 at the age of 54.
Randhir Singh Gentle was an Indian field hockey player and coach. He was part of the Indian team that won three consecutive gold medals in the Summer Olympics, from 1948 to 1956. Gentle is one of only seven Indians to have won three gold medals at the Games, all of them in men's field hockey.
Udham Singh Kular was an Indian Hockey Player from Sansarpur, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He played in 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki, 1956 Summer Olympics Melbourne, 1960 Summer Olympics Rome and 1964 Summer Olympics Tokyo. He shares the distinction of being one of only two Indian players to win four Olympic medals, the other being Leslie Claudius. He scored 14 goals from total of 14 Olympic matches
India competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in Wembley Park, London, England. 79 competitors, all men, took part in 39 events in 10 sports. It was the first time that India competed as an independent nation at the Olympic Games.
In cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics, the men's individual road race was held on 7 September. There were 163 starters from 48 nations. The maximum per NOC was four. A total of 76 cyclists finished the race. The event was won by Hennie Kuiper of the Netherlands, the nation's first victory in the men's individual road race and first medal in the event since 1948. Clyde Sefton earned Australia's first medal in the event with his silver. Jaime Huélamo of Spain finished third, but was disqualified after failing a drug test; the medal was not reassigned. Italy missed the podium, breaking a four-Games streak of gold and silver medals.
Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra, PVSM was a former air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the Chief of the Air Staff from 1973 to 1976. He received Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), the highest military award for peace-time service, in 1968. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, in 1977. He later became Governor of Maharashtra from 1980 to 1982, and Governor of Rajasthan from 1985 to 1987. He married Satya Mehra and has four children with her Sunil, Parveen, Rahul, and Amitava and numerous grand children.
The National Games of India consist of various disciplines in which athletes from the different states of India participate against each other. The country's first few Olympic Games, now renamed as National Games, were held in Lahore, Delhi, Allahabad, Patiala, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
Jankidas Mehra was an Indian actor of Hindi cinema, cyclist, production designer, and writer. He made over 1000 film appearances between the 1930s and 1997.
The women's road race was one of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It took place on 10 August 2008, featuring 66 women from 33 countries. It was the seventh appearance of an Olympic women's road race event and featured a longer course than any of the previous six races. The race was run on the Urban Road Cycling Course, which is 102.6 kilometres (63.8 mi) total. Including a second lap around the 23.8 km (14.8 mi) final circuit, the total distance of the women's race was 126.4 km (78.5 mi), less than half the length of the men's race.
Pierre Dumas was a French doctor who pioneered drug tests in the Olympic Games and cycling. He was doctor of the Tour de France from 1952 to 1969 and head of drug-testing at race until 1977.
Milkha Singh, also known as "The Flying Sikh", was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. He has 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. Singh was awarded the Padma Shri in 1959, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements.
Robert John Maitland was a British racing cyclist. He won national championships in Britain, tackled long-distance records, was the best-placed British rider in the 1948 Olympic road race, and rode for Britain in the Tour de France. His career coincided with a civil war within British cycling as two organisations, the National Cyclists Union and the British League of Racing Cyclists, fought for the future of road racing.
The Pakistan Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in Pakistan. It was established in 1947 and is currently based in Peshawar.
Sohrab H. Bhoot was an Indian Olympian administrator and sports administrator in the early and middle 20th century.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi, and produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures in association with Rajiv Tandon and editor P.S. Bharathi under the ROMP Pictures banner. Based on the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete and Olympian who was a champion of the Commonwealth Games and two-time 400m champion of the Asian Games, it stars Farhan Akhtar in the title role alongside Divya Dutta, Meesha Shafi, Pavan Malhotra, Yograj Singh, Art Malik, and Prakash Raj in supporting roles with Sonam Kapoor in a special appearance.
The history of cycling as a sport in India dates back to 1938. The Cycling Federation of India takes care of the sport. Cycling is unknown as a professional sport in India but popular as a common recreational sport and it is a good way to keep fit.
Raj Kumar Mehra was an Indian cyclist. He competed at the 1948 Olympics and the 1952 Olympics. At the 1951 Asian Games he won the silver medal in the team pursuit.
Malcolm B Malcolm Sr. was an Indian cyclist. He was five times National Cycling Champion and competed for India in the 1948 Summer Olympics in the Men's individual road race, the Asian Games 1951 and the World Championships in 1954.
Balbir Singh Dosanjh, predominantly known as Balbir Singh Sr., was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold prabhdeep medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952), and Melbourne (1956) Olympics. He is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time, a modern-day Dhyan Chand, a legend of the sport, and is widely regarded as the sport's greatest ever centre-forward. His Olympic record for most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten. Singh set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6–1 victory over the Netherlands in the men's field hockey final of the 1952 Olympic Games. He was often called Balbir Singh Senior to distinguish him from other Indian hockey players named Balbir Singh. Singh scored 246 goals from just 61 international caps and scored 23 goals in just 8 Olympic matches
