COVID positive Milkha Singh 'clinically stable'

Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh is "clinically stable with decreasing oxygen requirement" as he fights COVID pneumonia, the hospital where he is being treated said on Tuesday.

Milkha was on Monday admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Fortis hospital in Mohali. The 91-year-old tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.

"Mr Milkha Singh is clinically stable with decreasing oxygen requirement," the hospital update read.

He was diagnosed with "COVID pneumonia" on Monday after his admission.

Earlier Milkha's golfer son Jeev had said that the decision to hospitalise him was a precautionary measure.

"Though his parameters seemed alright, we thought it is safer to have him admitted where he would be under supervision of senior doctors," Jeev had told PTI on Monday.

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

"Only I returned positive on Wednesday and I am surprised," Milkha had said.

None of the other family members, including Milkha's wife Nirmal Kaur, a former India volleyball captain, returned a positive test.

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.