Sitting miles away in California, USA, Gill could speak volumes on his journey to stardom over the phone. Going to the USA on an athletics scholarship was, in fact, a turning point in his sports career, he believes.

The Indian triple jumper reaped the benefits of competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition, saying it paid off in the long run.

Mohinder Singh Gill was the first Indian to compete at the NCAA. Discus thrower Vikas Gowda and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar are the other two Indians who were on athletics scholarships and competed in the NCAA competition.

Mohinder Singh Gill’s career

Mohinder Singh Gill reached the zenith of his sporting career in 1971, setting an Indian triple jump record of 16.79m, which stood for more than three decades. It was broken eventually by Kerala’s Renjith Maheswary in 2010.

The marathon conversation over the phone wasn’t enough to give a deep insight into the journey of an athlete who was on the verge of quitting the sport in 1968. He almost left the sport due to ill-treatment from those running the affairs of the national athletics body.

However, timely advice from his uncle changed his mind. He decided to go ahead and avail the athletics scholarship in the USA.

A year later, Smith went on to win the 200m gold at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.

Mohinder Singh Gill’s strained relations with sports bodies

While Mohinder Singh Gill received warm receptions in the USA and Europe during competitions, he didn’t enjoy a healthy relationship with his own country’s national athletics body.

According to Gill, since officials of the national athletics body were also heading the sports department of the Indian Railways, it made matters worse. The officials were annoyed even more because the triple jumper rejected a job offer to work with the Indian Railways.

The animosity between him and those running the athletics organizations in India grew to the extent that he was denied an air ticket from the USA to New Zealand to compete at the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

Upset by the whole scenario, Gill called up the Prime Minister’s office, requesting them to intervene.

The Indian triple jumper went on to win silver in New Zealand and became the first Indian athlete to win back-to-back medals at the Commonwealth Games. He had won bronze at the 1970 Games in Edinburgh.

Story of untapped potential

The former national record holder believes he could have gone further in his career, both metaphorically and literally.

As far as physical conditioning is concerned, Mohinder Singh Gill reveals that he did a lot of strengthening exercises with barbells during his athletics career.

Gill’s best performance in his career was recorded in 1971 in California. His 16.79m mark stood as a national record for more than three decades.

During his sports career, the legend of Indian sports had the opportunity to get but rejected US citizenship as he wanted to represent his own country.

While one can only imagine how much more this hero of Indian athletics could have achieved if he had the kind of support enjoyed by today’s athletes, Gill can certainly be proud of having paved the path for future generations.

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