Unfortunately, that did not happen, a dream came true. It felt like a mirage.To him, the gold medal was a piece of metal. He retired from his Bengal Engineering Group in 1970 and his life suddenly turned into a nightmare.
Salwan received no help or assistance from the authorities after his victory and he sadly had to beg to survive. A famous acquaintance kindly helped him get a taxi. Sarwan Singh had been driving for him and his family for nearly 20 years.
Finally, when he was 70 received a pension of 1,500 rupees, which apparently was not enough to live on. Sawan’s contribution to his country went beyond his own victories. In fact, he was the man who found the famous runner Pan Singh Tomar.
It is sad and cruel to imagine that many of the forgotten heroes of sports who made their country proud have returned to lives of poverty and dignity.
