Milkha Singh, wife Nirmal Kaur stable and symptoms on downward trend, says hospital

Chandigarh: Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh and his wife Nirmal Kaur on Friday continued to be on the road to recovery after contracting the COVID-19 infection, leaving their golfer son Jeev Milkha Singh hopeful of getting them discharged in the coming days. Milkha and his wife, who led the Indian women’s volleyball team, are currently undergoing treatment at Fortis hospital in Mohali, which, in a fresh update, said that they are stable and symptoms are on a “downward trend”. The hospital had earlier said that they were being treated for COVID-19 pneumonia. In its latest update about the condition of the couple, the hospital said both are stable, “Mrs and Mr Milkha Singh are stable and their symptoms are on a downward trend. Mr Milkha Singh’s appetite has also improved,” the hospital said in its bulletin. While Milkha, 91, was admitted to the hospital on Monday, his 82-year-old wife got admission in the same facility on Wednesday after testing positive for the highly contagious virus. Jeev, who flew down to Chandigarh from Dubai on Saturday, too said his parents are stable. The golfer informed that his elder sister, Mona Milkha Singh, who is a doctor in the United States, arrived here a couple of days ago. “Last few days have been very tough… My parents are on oxygen support, but stable. “We are hoping that they should be able to pull through this and come out of this soon,” Jeev told PTI. Milkha and his wife are sharing the same room in the hospital. Kaur had earlier returned negative when Milkha’s family members were tested for the virus. Milkha is suspected to have contracted the infection from a house help. Jeev further said that Milkha has grown weak as he has been eating less during the past few days. “My sister has been telling him to eat. I thank God that she is around, she is a pillar of strength at this hour,” he said. Jeev said that his mother had bouts of fever, but is maintaining her oxygen saturation level. “I thank God that they are at least stable. I thank millions of Indians and well-wishers for their prayers and good wishes for my parents. “We want to thank them for this for their prayers and their concerns and hopefully they should pull through. And I am going to stay positive,” Jeev said. The legendary athlete is a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance was the fourth-place finish in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years till Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998. He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.