Track legend Milkha Singh's wife, Nirmal Kaur, on Sunday passed away at the age of 85. She had tested positive for COVID-19 in May this year.
"We are deeply saddened to inform you that Nirmal Milkha Singh passed away after a valiant battle against Covid-19 at 4 PM today," read a family statement.
Nirmal Kaur was a former Director of Sports for Women in the Punjab Government and was also a former captain of the Indian women's national volleyball team.
Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, on Sunday, also condoled the demise of Nirmala Milkha Singh. In a condolence message, the Sports Minister said, "I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of Nirmala Milkha Singh, which is extremely shocking and unfortunate."
The former Indian sprinter Milkha Singh also tested positive for coronavirus two weeks ago and was in isolation at his home in Chandigarh before he was admitted to the ICU at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Dr. Jagat Ram, Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh provided an update on Milkha Singh's health saying: "Milkha Singh's saturation has improved. Parameters are stable."
Last week, PM Narendra Modi spoke to Milkha Singh and expressed hope that the iconic former athlete will be back soon to "bless and inspire athletes, who will be participating in the Tokyo Olympics."
The legendary athlete is a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion. He still is the only Indian athlete to win Gold in the Asian and Commonwealth Championship. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, in recognition of his sporting achievements.
( With inputs from ANI )
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