When Muhammad Ali visited Kerala

A neurologist from Kerala has recalled the time he spent with Muhammad Ali when the legendary boxer visited the Indian state way back in 1989.

Ali, who passed away on Saturday in the United States and was widely considered to be one of the greatest sportspersons in human history, retired in 1981 after developing symptoms of neurological illness and Parkinsonism.

"Veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar was also present on the occasion and so was Ali, who we managed to bring through some of our friends in the US. Since I was a neurologist, the first time I shook his hands, I could sense all was not well with him," P.A. Fazal Ghafoor, president of the Muslim Educational Society, was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

Ghafoor had brought the champion down to India for the silver jubilee celebrations of their organisation.

"He was with us for two days and his speech also had a problem, so did his movements. He did not speak much and was generally quiet.

"Even though he had converted to Islam and we also belong to the same religion, he did not speak on Islam. He was at that time fighting the anti-apartheid movement across the world," Ghafoor reminisced.