Milkha Singh, the Flying Sikh, breathed his final in Chandigarh on Friday night time. The 91-year-old had contracted Covid-19 a month again and misplaced his spouse Nirmal Kaur to the virus earlier this week.
The 1958 Commonwealth Games champion and 1960 Rome Olympian had examined constructive for the virus on May 20 and was admitted to a non-public hospital in Mohali on May 24. Singh had been discharged on May 30 earlier than he was admitted to the Covid ward on the Nehru Hospital Extension at PGIMER on June 3 on account of dipping oxygen ranges. The former Indian athlete had examined adverse on Thursday earlier this week and was shifted to the medical ICU.
“Dad just passed away,” Singh’s son Jeev Milkha Singh informed The Indian Express.
I had spoken to Shri Milkha Singh Ji only a few days in the past. Little did I do know that it could be our final dialog. Several budding athletes will derive energy from his life journey. My condolences to his household and plenty of admirers all around the world.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 18, 2021
Singh, born in Gobindpura – in current day Pakistan – was the primary Indian monitor and area athlete to win gold within the then British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. He remained the one one for greater than 50 years earlier than discus thrower Krishna Poonia gained gold on the 2010 CWG in Delhi. Singh had overwhelmed Malcolm Spence of South Africa with a timing of 46.6 seconds within the Scottish metropolis.
Milkha Singh throughout 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. (Express Archive)
While he had additionally gained 4 Asian Games gold medals – 200m and 400m in 1958, and 400m and 4x400m relay in 1962 – Singh’s most memorable second got here on the 1960 Rome Olympics the place he completed fourth within the 400m remaining in a photo-finish. Singh’s then nationwide report timing of 45.6 seconds, set in Rome, was damaged by Paramjeet Singh in 1998.
Singh is survived by three daughters – Mona Singh, Aleeza Grover and Sonia Sanwalka in addition to son Jeev Milkha Singh. Golfer Jeev, a 14-time worldwide winner, is a Padma Shri awardee like his father and had been coordinating with the medical employees at PGIMER together with elder sister Dr Mona Singh since final month.
Milkha Singh along with his spouse Nirmal Kaur. (Express Archive)
In 2019, Singh had celebrated his ninetieth birthday with relations at his Sector 8 residence in Chandigarh. “It’s a special day for me and the whole family but celebrations can wait. The reason I am here to see this day is my fitness regime and that’s what I follow at the start of the day. It’s like a prayer for an athlete like me and I believe that as long as a person is fit, he remains active. When I am not playing golf, I go for a jog for more than two kms at Sukhna Lake. I want people to be passionate about fitness. Whether it is working people or senior citizens, they need to take 10 minutes of physical exercise daily at home or a park and I am glad that I can motivate people at this age too for fitness,” Singh had informed The Indian Express that day.