Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh, 91, succumbed to post covid-19 complications Friday night after a month-long battle with the virus. Milkha, the Flying Sikh, had tested positive for the virus on May 20 and was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali on May 24. He had been discharged on May 30 before he was admitted to the Covid ward at the Nehru Hospital Extension at PGIMER on June 3 due to dipping oxygen levels. The former Indian athlete had tested negative on Thursday earlier this week and was shifted to the medical ICU. Milkha Singh was a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist and the 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance was a near miss, the fourth place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Now Salman Khan took to Twitter, to express his condolence to the legendary sportsman. The Radhe star wrote, You will always be an inspiration... RIP Folded hands Milkha Singh Ji.. Earlier, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and others from the Indian film industry mourned the end of an era as they paid tributes to sprint icon Milkha Singh, describing him as an epitome of "hard work" and "determination". Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has announced a State Funeral to Milkha Singh on Saturday. Also, the state will observe a one-day of State mourning as a mark of respect to the departed legend. Besides, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also tweeted saying,' I'm leaving for Chandigarh to attend the funeral of #MilkhaSingh Ji. I'm carrying the message of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji for the family and will pay my tribute to the pride of India, the legendary #FlyingSikh."