Milkha shifted out of ICU; wife admitted with COVID pneumonia

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh "continues to be stable on oxygen support" and he was on Wednesday shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital where he is being treated for COVID pneumonia, indicating signs of improvement in his condition.

However, his 82-year-old wife Nirmal Kaur, a former India volleyball captain, was on Wednesday admitted to the same hospital in Mohali after testing positive for COVID pneumonia.

“Mr Milkha Singh continues to be stable on oxygen support. However, he is weak and we are trying to persuade him to increase his food intake,” Fortis hospital in Mohali said in an update.

“Today, we have stepped him down from the ICU to a room which he is sharing with his wife Mrs Nirmal Milkha Singh who was admitted earlier in the day with Covid pneumonia.

"Both are being closely monitored."

Kaur had earlier returned negative when all of Milkha's family members were tested for the virus.

Milkha was on Monday admitted to the ICU after testing positive for the virus last Wednesday. He was diagnosed with COVID pneumonia on the same day of his admission.

He is suspected to have contracted the infection from house helps who had tested positive for the virus.

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 of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

His timing at the Italian capital remained the national record for 38 years till Paramjeet Singh broke it in 1998.

He also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.