Milkha Singh, the legendary Indian athlete, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Mohali on Monday after his oxygen level started dipping from Sunday night, reported PTI. The 91-year-old was previously in home isolation after contracting Covid-19 last week.
According to the report, hospital authorities said that Singh was stable. “He has been hospitalised. He was weak and not eating since yesterday, so we had to hospitalise him. Though his parameters seemed alright, we thought it is safer to have him admitted where he would be under the supervision of senior doctors,” his son golfer Jeev Milkha Singh told PTI.
His wife, Nirmal Kaur, told The Indian Express that Milkha Singh was suffering from low oxygen level and had symptoms of diarrhoea and dehydration. This prompted them to admit him to the hospital.
Singh had reportedly contracted the virus from one of his staff members at home. However, apart from him, nobody else in his family tested positive for Covid-19.
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Popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’, Milkha Singh is a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist. He is the only athlete to win a gold medal in the 400m at the Asian as well the Commonwealth Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and also the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He is most well-known for his performance at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he finished fourth in the 400m final. His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years till Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.
Singh was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1959 for his outstanding achievements.
In 2013, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra helmed a biopic on his life titled Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which starred Farhan Akhtar in the titular role. The film went on to win several awards including the Best Popular Film at the National Film Awards.