Milkha Singh The Flying Sikh Dies At 91
Milkha Singh, the legendary Indian sprinter, died at the age of 91 on June 19, due to post Covid-19 complications.
Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh was 91 years old. He had tested positive for COVID-19 on May 19 but was in home isolation at his Chandigarh residence as he was asymptomatic. However, a few days later on 24 May, he was admitted to the ICU of Mohali's Fortis hospital due to "COVID Pneumonia". Two days later on 26 May, his wife Nirmal Kaur was also admitted to Fortis hospital. She had also tested positive for COVID and her condition had worsened. NK was the Former Indian women's volleyball team captain. However, Milkha Singh’s condition became serious on 3rd June and he was then moved to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. Sadly Nirmal Kaur could not battle the dead infection and lost her life on 13th June.
5 days later on 18 June even Milkha Singh passed away due to COVID complications. The couple are survived by one son and 3 daughters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other famous personalities and various other people posted tributes to Milkha Singh on social media. Milkha Singh is popularly known as the 'Flying Sikh' this is because he was a very fast runner. He won four gold medals at the Asian Games. He also won a gold at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. He narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal, finishing fourth at the 400m final of the 1960 Rome, Italy Rome Olympic Games. However, he completed the race in 45.73 seconds. For the next 40 years, no Indian could beat his record time until Paramjeet Singh surpassed it in 1998. Milkha Singh had also taken part in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics. He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 1959.
