Legendary athlete Milkha Singh passes away at 91

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh, also known as the 'Flying Singh', breathed his last on Friday (June 18, 2021) after a month-long battle with COVID-19 at the age of 91. He was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh.

Milkha Singh's family issued a statement that read, "It is with extreme sadness that we would like to inform you that Milkha Singh Ji passed away at 11.30 pm on the 18th of June 2021. He fought hard but God has his ways and it was perhaps true love and companionship that both our mother Nirmal ji and now Dad have passed away in a matter of 5 days."

When the news of Milkha Singh's passing broke out on social media, many Bollywood stars took to their respective social media handles to express their grief over this sad news.

Farhan Akhtar, who essayed the role of Milkha Singh in the latter's biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, took to his Instagram and wrote: "Dearest Milkha ji, A part of me is still refusing to accept that you are no more. Maybe it's the stubborn side I inherited from you.. the side that when it sets it's mind on something, just never gives up. And the truth is that you will always be alive. Because you were more than a large hearted, loving, warm, down to earth man. You represented an idea. You represented a dream. You represented (to use your own words) how hard work, honesty and determination can lift a person off his knees and get him to touch the sky.”

Akshay Kumar tweeted, "Incredibly sad to hear about the demise of #MilkhaSingh ji. The one character I forever regret not playing on-screen! May you have a golden run in heaven, Flying Sikh. Om shanti, Sir ."

Raveena Tandon took to her Twitter handle and wrote, "Had the honour of meeting you Sir, you will always have a special place in all our hearts ! Whenever we need to be inspired, "bhaag milkhe bhaag," will resound in our ears! Om Shanti."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also condoled the demise of sprint legend and said he was not just a sports star but a source of inspiration for millions of Indians for his dedication and resilience. He tweeted: "Shri Milkha Singh ji was not just a sports star but a source of inspiration for millions of Indians for his dedication and resilience."

Milkha Singh went on to become one of the finest sportspersons that India had ever produced. Milkha made his maiden Olympic appearance in the 1956 Melbourne Games but was eliminated in the initial rounds. It was in 1958 that he started to gain global recognition, having won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games that year. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, he finished 4th and smashed his own 400m national record by clocking a time of 45.73.