Milkha Singh battles 'rough day' at hospital, oxygen saturation level dips

Chandigarh: Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh has developed a fever and his oxygen saturation level has also dropped as he battles to regain his health, after a bout with COVID-19 , in the Intensive Care Unit of the PGIMER hospital on Friday.

The 91-year-old, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday and was shifted to the general ICU, is being closely monitored by a team of doctors.

"He suddenly developed a fever Thursday night and his oxygen saturation levels dipped. A team of doctors is monitoring him," PGIMER sources said on Friday.

Milkha had been "stable before this.

"It's been a slightly rough day for Milkha Ji. But he is battling away," read a statement from his family.

He had contracted COVID-19 last month and his 85-year-old wife Nirmal Kaur, who had also been infected by the virus, passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Sunday.

Kaur was a former national women's volleyball team captain.

Milkha was admitted to PGIMER on 3 June after his oxygen levels dipped at home following treatment at the Fortis hospital in Mohali for a week.

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

He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.