Former Table Tennis national champion Manmeet Singh Walia passes away

Former national table tennis champion Manmeet Singh Walia passed away at the age of 58 in Montreal, Canada on Monday.

The former paddler was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) a rare disease that causes motor neuron degeneration, leading to voluntary muscle impairment.

"He had visited his doctors in Coimbatore also, trying to seek advice and find a cure. But he knew full well that there was no cure for it, yet he had put himself up bravely to fight the disease till he breathed his last," the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) said in an official statement on Tuesday.

Manmeet became the national champion in 1989 when he defeated S. Sriram in the men singles final at Hyderabad.

The paddler had represented the country at multiple international events after making his debut at the Asian Championships in 1980 Kolkata along with eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta.

TTFI Secretary General M.P. Singh, condoling his death, said it was a sad moment for the entire table tennis fraternity.

"I have interacted with him as a player during my playing days as well as in recent times when he came to Delhi a couple of years ago. I have lost a good friend," Singh said.

( With inputs from ANI )