Milkha Singh to be cremated with full state honours in Chandigarh today

Veteran athlete Milkha Singh, popularly known as the Flying Sikh, passed away on Friday after a month-long battle with Covid-19. "The cremation will take place at 5 pm today (Saturday)," a spokesperson from the family, said. His mortal remains have been kept at his Sector 8 residence. Milkha Singh, who tested positive for Covid-19 on May 20 after a domestic help at his residence was found infected, was initially admitted to a Mohali hospital before being brought home on May 30. However, he was admitted to the PGI after his oxygen levels fell.

President Ram Nath Kovind condoled the demise of Milkha Singh as Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid their tribute to their sporting legend. Taking to social media, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar paid a rich tribute to Milkha Singh, he said MIlkha Singh will continue to keep inspiring several generations to come.Milkha Singh began his Olympic journey at the 1956 Olympics in Australia. One of his greatest performances remains to be finishing fourth in the 1960 Rome Olympics in 400m race at the quadrennial event. Despite finishing fourth, Milkha Singh also broke the existing world record for the event, as all the top four runners breached that mark.