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NEW DELHI: Indian track athlete Milkha Singh, who overcame childhood tragedy to seek Olympic glory, has died after a long battle with COVID-19.
Tributes to the athlete known as the “Flying Sikh” poured in on social media after the news broke late Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was “anguished” by the news.
“We have lost a colossal sportsperson, who captured the nation’s imagination and had a special place in the hearts of countless Indians. His inspiring personality endeared himself to millions,” Modi wrote.
The 91-year-old had contracted COVID-19 a month back and lost his wife Nirmal Kaur to the virus earlier this week. The Olympian had tested positive for the virus on May 20 and was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali.
Singh had been discharged on May 30 before he was admitted to the Covid ward on June 3 due to declining oxygen levels. The former Indian athlete had tested negative earlier this week and was shifted to the medical ICU.
Singh was born in Gobindpura in present-day Pakistan. He lost his family during the tumultuous partition in 1947, before going on to become one of the young country’s first athletic heroes.
He was the first Indian track and field athlete to win gold in the then British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. Singh’s most memorable moment came at the 1960 Rome Olympics where he finished fourth in the 400m final in a photo-finish.
Singh’s national record timing of 45.6 seconds set in Rome stood for almost 40 years. But the devastated Singh never fulfilled his dream of winning an Olympic medal. He is survived by three daughters – Mona Singh, Aleeza Grover and Sonia Sanwalka as well as son Jeev Milkha Singh.
His rise to elite athlete made Singh a national hero and inspired a Bollywood film in 2013 called “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” (Run, Milkha, Run). The movie title refers to the poignant last words spoken to Singh by his father. As he was dying, he told Singh to flee or he, too, would be killed in the post-partition riots.
