Milkha Singh's health condition turns critical

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh's condition turned critical on Friday evening as he developed complications, including fever and dropping of oxygen saturation level, after a bout with Covid-19, in the Intensive Care Unit of the PGIMER hospital here.

The 91-year-old, who contracted Covid-19 last month, tested negative for the virus on Wednesday. He was shifted to general ICU in another block of the hospital.

"His condition has turned critical," PGIMER sources said.

He was being closely monitored by a team of doctors.

Earlier, Milkha, popularly known as 'Flying Sikh', had suddenly developed fever Thursday night and his oxygen saturation levels dipped.

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 earlier in the day.

Milkha's 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 June 3 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.