(Image source from: www.indiatimes.in)

Asian Games gold medallist athlete and Dhyan Chand award winner Hakam Singh Bhattal, who was suffering from a prolonged illness, passed away on Tuesday morning. He was 64. He had been battling serious liver and kidney ailments and had been hospitalized since days many in Sangrur.

Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had ordered a release of Rs. 5 lakh for his treatment.

Before that, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had likewise proclaimed a  relief fund of Rs. 10 lakh for his treatment. Rathore's response had come after Bhattal's wife had spoken about how the government does not value athletes. "We are poor people and the government should at least help those who get laurels for the nation," she had told ANI.

Hakam Singh Bhattal, Asian Games gold medallist athlete & Dhyan Chand award winner, passed away this morning in a hospital in Sangrur. #Punjab pic.twitter.com/DSBI7klpwx

— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2018

Bhattal was admitted to a hospital in Sangrur on July 29 this year. His family was finding the situation difficult as they have did not receive any help from the government.

Bhattal had won a gold medal in the men's 20km walk in the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games. He also won a gold in the Asian Track and Field Meeting held in Tokyo in 1979.

The former athlete, who had also served as havaldar in the 6 Sikh Regiment, was conferred the Dhyan Chand Award in 2008. A near-fatal mishap in 1981 had forced him to hang up his boots, marking an unexpected conclusion to an eminent sports career.

By Sowmya Sangam