Milkha Singh's wife Nirmal Kaur passes away due to COVID-19

Milkha Singh is a legendary former Indian athlete and an Olympic runner cum sprinter. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 along with his wife, Nirmal Kaur. However, after being treated for nearly a week, Nirmal lost the battle and passed away.

Legendary former Indian athlete and sprinter Milkha Singh is having a tough time in his life. He has lost his beloved wife, Nirmal Kaur on Sunday, to COVID-19, as a son and three daughters survive him.

"We are deeply saddened to inform you that Mrs Nirmal Milkha Singh passed away after a valiant battle against COVID at 4 PM today. A backbone of the Milkha Family, she was 85 years old. It is tragic that the Flying Sikh Milkha Singh Ji could not attend the cremation, which was conducted this evening itself, as he is still in the ICU (of PGIMER in Chandigarh) himself. The family has expressed its grateful thanks to everyone for their solidarity and prayers right through the battle, which gave them the strength to face it bravely," a spokesperson from their family stated, reports PTI.

Milkha and his wife had been affected by COVID-19 and were undergoing treatments. Nirmal was taken to the Fortis Hospital in Mohali on May 26, a couple of days later, after Milkha received treatment for COVID-pneumonia in the same hospital.

While Milkha was discharged from the hospital a week later, he was later admitted to PGIMER's Intensive Care Unit, where he is currently stable. However, Nirmal remained at Fortis as she continued her battle with the deadly coronavirus before succumbing to its complications.

"I am saddened to learn about the death of one of the iconic volleyball players who brought several laurels for the country, thus making every Punjabi proud," said Amarinder Singh, Punjab Chief Minister.

Nirmal, a former Indian women volleyball team captain and a former Director of Sports for Women for the Punjab Government, was stable for the past few days before her condition deteriorated. Besides some drop in her oxygen level, she put on a high flow nasal cannula, along with non-invasive ventilation.

Both Milkha and Nirmal probably got the infection from their house cook, working for them for the past 50 years. The last rites were performed on Sunday in the presence of son Jeev Milkha Singh and daughter Mona Milkha Singh.

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