Who was the first Indian athlete to reach Olympic finals?

Milkha Singh was the first Indian athlete to reach Olympic finals. Milkha Singh reached the finals of 400 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He finished fourth in the finals and clocked a timing of 45.6 seconds. Mlkha Singh missed the bronze medal by just a difference of 0.1 seconds.

Milkha Singh is nicknamed The Flying Sikh. He was born in Lyallpur (now in Pakistan) on 8 October 1935. He lost his parents during partition. Milkha Singh also worked in the Indian Army for a short time. He came into limelight during the National Games at Patiala in 1956. In 1958, Milkha Singh set 200 and 400 meters record in the National games at Cuttack. The same year he established new records in the 200 and 400 meters in the Asian Games at Tokyo. Milkha Singh also won the gold medal in the 1958 Commonwealth Games at Cardiff. Milkha Singh was conferred with Padma Shri in 1958.