Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passes away after prolonged battle against COVID-19

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh passed away on Friday after developing complications, including fever and dropping of oxygen saturation level, following a bout with COVID-19, in the Intensive Care Unit of the PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh. Milkha’s passing was confirmed by son Jeev Milkha Singh to The Indian Express. The 91-year-old, who contracted COVID-19 last month, tested negative for the virus on Wednesday and was shifted to general ICU in another block of the hospital. Milkha, popularly known as ‘Flying Sikh’, had suddenly developed fever on Thursday night and his oxygen saturation levels dipped. Milkha had been “stable” before this. Milkha’s 85-year-old wife, Nirmal Kaur, who had also been infected by the virus, passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Sunday. Milkha was admitted to PGIMER on 3 June after his oxygen levels dipped at home following treatment at the Fortis Hospital in Mohali for a week. The legendary athlete was a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance remains the fourth-place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics. He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 1959. With inputs from PTI.