BATHINDA: Olympian Kaur Singh, who brought laurels for India in the prime of his youth, passed away due to prolonged illness at the age of 74 years on Thursday. The international boxer faced getting neglected in the last year's of his life and it is only 9 months when a biopic was prepared on him in July 2022 for sportspersons to learn from his struggling life without losing heart
Kaur Singh represented India in the Olympics, won six Gold Medals in various tournaments in Asian countries including Asian Games in 1982 but getting very less. He had to wait for over three decades for the cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh announced at the time of his winning Asian Games Gold Medal in heavyweight Boxing.
He faced heart ailment necessitating placing of a stent to restore blood in 2015 but failed to get government support. It was during his stint in the Indian Army that Kaur Singh got the treatment. He breathed his last at Kurukshetra.
Kaur Singh had fought with legendary Muhammad Ali in a four-round exhibition match on January 27, 1980 at Delhi when Ali was visiting India.
In the name of recalling his contribution the present government this year has made his life journey as part of school curriculum.
Apart from winning 6 gold medals in international events, Kaur Singh had received the coveted Arjuna Award in 1982 and Padam Shri in 1983. He also won Vishisht Sewa Medal in 1988 apart from two medals for valiantly taking part in the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
The family has 4 acres of land at village Khanal Khurd in Sangrur, through which the family was making up. One of his sons who is a sepoy in the Army at Jabalpur too supports the family.
After getting no support from the governments he had hung up boots after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
“The governments fail to care about the sportspersons who have brought glory to the nation while playing. This is the biggest drawback that Indian sports fail to get talent in sports and the government needs to stand by the sportspersons in their thick and thin”, Kaur Singh had told Times of India in an interview in 2016.
The illiterate Kaur Singh had joined the Indian army at the age of 23 in 1971 as Havaldar. Only a few months later the war ensued and he valiantly fought in the Barmer sector in Rajasthan.
He won the Sangram and Sena Sewa medal. Till then he had no knowledge of boxing and started it 6 years later. He made national debut in boxing in 1979 and won the gold medal in senior national boxing and repeated the feat on four occasions till 1983 and in between won 6 gold medals in various events in Asian Countries and had won two games in the Los Angeles Olympics before losing in the third game.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer expressed grief over his demise.
