PATIALA: Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri, a former Olympian and legend boxer Kaur Singh, who was also a retired army man, passed away at 74 years of age at a private hospital in Kurukshetra of Haryana on Thursday morning.
He was undergoing treatment for multiple health issues and was admitted to private hospital in Patiala two days ago from where he was referred for Kurukshetra.
He is survived by two sons including Satgur Singh, 38, a farmer and Jasbir Singh, 32, Havildar in Indian Army's Infantry Sikh Regiment and a daughter Rajinder Kaur.
Kaur Singh's dead body reached his native village Khanaal Khurd in Dirba at around 11.30 AM and cremation was held at around 2 PM. Punjab Finance Minister and Dirba legislator Harpal Singh Cheema reached to pay the tributes. The legendary boxer was cremated with full honors and 152 Sikh Regiment also paid the tributes.
Hailing from Khanaal Khurd village of Punjab's Sangrur district, the Olympian Kaur Singh, had won six gold medals in the international competitions including the heavy weight boxing Gold medal in 1982 Asian Games, New Delhi.
On January 27, 1980, Kaur Singh had fought boxing legend Mohammad Ali in an exhibition match at New Delhi and the four round match became the most memorable moments.
Kaur Singh joined the Indian Army in 1971 as a Havildar and few months later he valiantly fought the Indo-Pak war at the Barmer sector of Rajasthan and was honored with two medals for his role in the war. Six years later, he took for the boxing and won gold in 1979 at Senior National Boxing Championship and repeated the feat on four occasions till 1983 including at the Asian Boxing Championship (1980). Though he lost but represented India with stellar performance in the Los Angeles Olympics 1984.
He was conferred with prestigious 'Arjuna award' in 1982, whereas in 1983 he was coveted with Padma Shri and in 1988 he was honored with Vishish Sewa Medal.
Kaur Singh faced a picture of neglect in the later years of his life. Diagnosed with heart ailment, he got a stent in 2015 but could not get any help from the state government however Indian Army came to his rescue.
"The family owned 4.5 acres of agricultural land. The medical expenses were borne by the Indian Army. On Sunday he faced breathing problem following which we got him medical aid and on Monday he was rushed to private hospital in Patiala from where he was referred to private hospital in Kurukshetra where he had spent three nights", said Mod Mahesh, relative of Kaur Singh.
He added, "Kaur Singh got retired from Indian Army in 1991 after which he joined as Punjab Police constable at Centre Sport Jalandhar in 1993 to July 2007."
Earlier this month, Punjab government had announced to make life-story of legendary boxer Kaur Singh as part of school curriculum and would be included in the textbooks of class 9 and 10 of physical education. Besides Kaur Singh, the government announced to publish life-stories of three other players including legendary athlete Milkha Singh, three time Olympian Balbir Singh Sr and India's first Arjuna Awardee and Olympian athlete Gurbachan Singh Randhawa.
CM, Ministers mourns:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of former Olympian and veteran Boxer Kaur Singh. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister said "Kaur Singh made India proud by earning name and fame in the national as well as international arena of Boxing. Kaur Singh shined like in star in world of Boxing and won Gold Medal in Asian Games, and also represented the country in Olympic games. His life and contribution will ever inspire the budding players to work hard and excel in the field of sports". Sharing his heart-felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give courage to them to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed soul.
Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer described Kaur Singh's departure as a big loss for the Indian sports field, especially boxing. "Kaur Singh had brought laurels to Punjab and the country on the international stage. Apart from winning a gold medal in the 1982 Asian Games, he also won gold medals in Asian Championship and King's Cup and represented India in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He fought a historic bout with World Class Boxer Muhammad Ali. He served in Indian Army and Punjab Police for a long time. The State Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has made the biography of this distinguished boxer part of the school syllabus for this academic session. Kaur Singh's life of struggle and sporting achievements will remain an inspiration for generations to come. He earned a global reputation with the hard work and dedication".
