Milkha Singh’s Wife Loses Battle With COVID-19, Legend Fights On In ICU

Chandigarh: The legendary Milkha Singh continues to fight COVID-19 in an ICU bed at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, but his wife Nirmal Kaur lost the battle about three weeks after contracting the deadly virus.

The 85-year-old Nirmal, a former captain of Indian women’s volleyball team, breathed her last at Mohali’s Fortis Hospital on Sunday.

She was hospitalised in the last week of May after developing COVID-19 pneumonia. The 91-year-old ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha, who was at the same hospital during that time, was discharged when his condition improved while Nirmal received further treatment. But Milkha had to be readmitted after developing complications.

A great volleyball player, Nirmal was also former Director of Sports for Women in the Punjab government and played a key role in bolstering sports infrastructure in Chandigarh before retiring in the early 90s.