Sprint Legend Milkha Singh Shifted Out Of ICU, Wife Nirmal Admitted With COVID Pneumonia

Sprint Legend Milkha Singh  'continues to be stable on oxygen support'  and is showing signs of recovery, the Mohali hospital, where he is undergoing treatment, said in a statement on Wednesday. (More Sports News)

Milkha has been shifted out of ICU into a room which the sprinter is now sharing with his  82-year-old wife Nirmal Milkha Singh. A former India volleyball captain, Nirmal also tested positive and is now undergoing treatment in the same hospital.

“Mr. Milkha Singh continues to be stable on oxygen support. However he is weak and we are trying to persuade him to increase his food intake. Today we have stepped him down from the ICU to a room which he is sharing with his wife Mrs. Nirmal Milkha Singh who was admitted earlier in the day with Covid  pneumonia,” Fortis Hospital, Mohali, said in a statement.  

Milkha was on Monday admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Fortis Hospital in Mohali. The 91-year-old had tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.

Milkha's golfer son Jeev had said that the decision to hospitalise Milkha was a precautionary measure.

The sprint legend is suspected to have contracted the infection from house helps who had tested positive for the virus.

The legendary athlete is a four-time Asian Games gold-medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion. His greatest performance was the fourth place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years till Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.

He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959. (With inputs from PTI)