Year Ender 2021: From Milkha Singh to Novy Kapadia - Sporting Legends We Lost in 2021

The year 2021 will be remembered for all the happy memories of the Gold medal that Neeraj Chopra won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, for a tight title race as Max Verstappen piped Lewis Hamilton to the Formula One crown as well as the spectacular moves made Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made on and off the football pitch. But it is the honest reality that we also lost some of the brightest stars of the sporting world in 2021.

MILKHA SINGH AND NIRMAL KAUR

Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh, popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’, passed away on June 18 at the age of 91 after a month-long battle with Covid-19. Nirmal Kaur, who is a former national volleyball captain and also Milkha Singh’s wife, also passed away five days prior. Nirmal, who was also a former Director of Sports for Women in the Punjab Government, died aged 85.

The Flying Singh is a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance remains the fourth-place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics. Milkha Singh also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959.

SYED SHAHID HAKIM

In August, former Indian footballer and Olympian Syed Shahid Hakim passed away at the age of 82 in Gulbarga, Karnataka. SS Hakim, who represented India at the 1960 Rome Olympics, was being treated at a hospital after having suffered a stroke two days prior.

SS Hakim was born in Hyderabad and is sone legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who guided India to two Asian Games gold medals and the semi-final of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He won the Santosh Trophy in 1960 with Services and managed the Durand Cup-winning side of Mahindra and Mahindra in 1998.

O CHANDRASEKHAR

In the same month, former India footballer and Olympian O Chandrasekhar, who was part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the 1962 Asian Games, died at his residence aged 85.

Chandrasekhar, a defender in his playing days, was a member of the 1960 Rome Olympics Indian team. At the domestic level, he won the Santosh Trophy the trophy in 1963 with Maharashtra.

MARVIN HAGLER

One of the great middleweights in boxing history, Marvelous Marvin Hagler died in March at the age of 66.

Hagler fought 67 times over 14 years as a pro out of Brockton, Massachusetts, finishing 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts and famously stopped Thomas Hearns in a fight that lasted less than eight minutes.

MAX MOSLEY

Max Mosley, who was the F1 president for 16 year between 1993 and 2008, died on 24 May. As president, Mosley pledged that the FIA should make a difference in the world outside motor racing and set about promoting increased road safety and the use of green technology.

Mosley was named Honorary President of the FIA and received many government and industry awards, most notably the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur’ in 2006, in recognition of his great contribution to road safety and motorsport.

LEON SPINKS

Leon Spinks, who surprised the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1978, died in February aged 67. Spinks had been suffering from prostate and other cancers for five years.

Spinks lost in a rematch to Ali, the last win of the latter’s career.

LEE EVANS

Lee Evans, who was part of Olympics’ most controversial and empowering moments, when he along with with fellow African-American medalists Larry James and Ron Freeman, received their medals wearing berets in imitation of the Black Panther Party. He had set the World Record for the 400m sprint, which he held from 1968 to 1988, at the 1968 Olympics.

NOVY KAPADIA

Novy Kapadia, who was widely considered ‘the’ authority on Indian football, died aged 67 after prolonged illness in November.

Kapadia, who has covered nine FIFA World Cups, was on ventilator for the last month of his life and had been suffering from a motor neurone disease, a rare condition that causes the nerves in the spine and brain to lose function over time.

Rendered immobile because of the condition, he was confined to his house and was left bed-ridden for the last couple of years.