Milkha Singh, one of India’s first sports superstars and an ace sprinter who overcame a childhood tragedy to become the country’s most celebrated athlete, has died of COVID-19.
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh, who succumbed to COVID complications was cremated with full state honor on Saturday in Chandigarh, marking the end of an era in which his pioneering accomplishments on the track galvanized a newly independent India.
Singh, 91, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and dubbed the “Flying Sikh”, passed away at a hospital in the north Indian city of Chandigarh late on Friday. His wife Nirmal Kaur, a former volleyball captain, had died of the virus just days earlier. She was 85.
Singh was the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 400m division in 1958. He narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal, finishing fourth at the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Games. Singh represented India at the Olympics in 1956, 1960, and 1964.
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh, who succumbed to COVID complications was cremated with full state honor on Saturday in Chandigarh, marking the end of an era in which his pioneering accomplishments on the track galvanized a newly independent India.
Singh, 91, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and dubbed the “Flying Sikh”, passed away at a hospital in the north Indian city of Chandigarh late on Friday. His wife Nirmal Kaur, a former volleyball captain, had died of the virus just days earlier. She was 85.
Singh was the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 400m division in 1958. He narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal, finishing fourth at the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Games. Singh represented India at the Olympics in 1956, 1960, and 1964.
