Asian Games gold medallist Dingko Singh recovers from coronavirus

The 41-year-old boxer came back to his state from New Delhi a month ago.

Asian Games gold medallist Dingko Singh has recovered from the deadly coronavirus after spending one month at a hospital in Imphal, Manipur. The former Indian boxer is also suffering from liver cancer, but that didn’t affect his will to fight against the pandemic.

Dingko Singh now has to spend the next two weeks in isolation at his home. He was hospitalized in the last week of May and tested positive five times for COVID-19 before his recovery.

He is best known for his historic gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok and was also conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award in the same year and Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2013. He inspired many upcoming boxers through his performances, including six-time world champion M.C Mary Kom, who also won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh also expressed his happiness over the recovery of the former bantamweight boxer and took to Twitter to congratulate him.

Dingko Singh was flown from Imphal to New Delhi by SpiceJet’s air ambulance service in April for his liver cancer treatment. At that time when no airline was operational due to the lockdown, SpiceJet provided him with the air ambulance service free of charge.

He went to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for radiation therapy to treat his cancer. However, doctors found out that he was diagnosed with jaundice and cancelled the session.

Dingko Singh then had to go back to Imphal by road, as airline services were not operational due to the enforced lockdown and he tested positive for coronavirus after reaching his home state.

He is now happy for his recovery and thanked everyone for their support in the time of crisis. He is currently employed with the Indian Navy and used to work as a coach before his medical predicament.