CHANDIGARH: Expressing a huge shock over the sad demise of legendary athlete Padma Shri Milkha Singh decorated as a Flying Sikh, Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, on Saturday, said that it is shocking to learn about the death of the greatest athlete of Asia.
Milkha Singh had passed away last midnight in PGIMER here after bravely battling against Covid-19. He is survived by a son Jeev Milkha Singh (renowned Golfer) and three daughters. He brought several gold medals in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Sports Minister Rana Sodhi also visited the residence of the Milkha Singh to pay his rich tributes to the great soul. Sharing his heartfelt condolences with bereaved family, relatives and friends at Milkha Singh's residence, the Sports Minister prayed to the Almighty to give courage to bear the huge loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed soul.
In his condolence message, the Sports Minister said, the death of Milkha Singh, a sports icon of more than 100 crore people of the country, has created a huge vacuum in the hearts of sports lovers and this irreparable loss could not be filled.
Notably, Milkha Singh was awarded Padma Shri in recognition of his sporting achievements. He stood 4th in 400 Metre event at Rome Olympics, 1960 and won a Gold medal in 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games besides double Gold medals in 1958 Tokyo Asian Games and 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. He represented India in three Olympic Games - 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, and 1964 Tokyo.