City bids adieu to veteran athlete Mann Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 1

Veteran athlete Mann Kaur, who died at the age of 105 after battling with cancer, was cremated in the presence of family members and fans at the Sector 25 electric crematorium here today.

Her funeral was attended by people from different walks of life, including politicians, athletics coaches, young runners and several others. A recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2019, she used to say “age is no bar to realise one’s dreams”.

“She lived her life to the fullest. Though the past few months were tough for her, she was happy to have become an inspiration for others,” said Gurdev Singh, her son.

The centenarian had been on liquid diet and had been treating the disease with the help of homeopathic medicines as operation was not an option at her age. She took up athletics at the age of 93. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President at the age of 103. In 2016, she was declared the fastest centenarian at a competition in the American Masters Games and she was among the prominent personalities of the Fit India Movement.

In 2019, she competed in Poland winning four events in her category – shot put, 60m sprint, 200m and the javelin. In 2019, she won a gold in 200m dash and shot put at the Asian Masters Championship in Malaysia. After she won a marathon event in Patiala in 2016, the organisers provided her lodging in Hotel Neemrana, renovated version of famed Rajindra Kothi of Patiala Kings. She stayed in the Maharani’s room.

Meanwhile, no official from the UT Administration, the Haryana Government or the Punjab Government attended the funeral.