Milkha again in ICU, stable

Chandigarh, June 3

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Former Indian sprinter and 91-year-old Milkha Singh has been admitted to the ICU at the Covid hospital, PGI, following a dip in the oxygen level.

A team of doctors said he had been kept under observation. His condition is said to be stable now. With fluctuating oxygen requirement, his 82-year-old wife Nirmal Milkha Singh also continues to be in the ICU at a private hospital in Mohali.

“Milkha is doing fine, but has been kept under strict observation. He has been following a good routine but suddenly his saturation level dropped following which he was rushed to the PGI,” said a source.

Milkha’s admission to the PGI is a cause for concern as he was recently discharged from a private hospital on May 30 on the request of his family and was under home isolation. He was being treated along with his wife at the hospital.

Milkha’s daughter Dr Mona Singh, who works at Covid ward in Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York, came to India last week and is coordinating with the doctors at the hospitals.

Last month, Milkha was said to have contracted the infection from a house help. The legendary athlete is a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance was the fourth-place finish in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years till Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.

Milkha also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959. “He has been admitted to the PGI ICU ward. Praying to God for them (parents) to pull through,” said Jeev Milkha Singh, the couple’s son and ace golfer. —TNS