Legendary India sprinter Milkha Singh passed away on Friday night due to COVID-19 complications. The 91-year-old's condition worsened on Friday after he developed fever and his oxygen levels dropped, just two days after being shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit at the PGIMER hospital.
"Milkha Singh dies after month long battle with COVID-19," a family spokesperson told PTI.
"He breathed his last at 11.30pm."
Milkha was on Wednesday shifted out of COVID ICU to another section of the PGIMER hospital, a statement from his family had said describing his condition as "stable".
However, Singh's condition turned critical on Friday when his oxygen saturation levels dropped.
Milkha's wife Nirmal Kaur (85), who had also contracted the virus days after her husband tested positive, passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Sunday due to COVID-related complications.
Milkha was admitted to PGIMER on June 3 after his oxygen levels dipped at home following treatment at the Fortis hospital in Mohali for a week.
The legendary athlete is 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 the Padma Shri in 1959.
