Centenarian sprinter Man Kaur, holder of several; world records, died of a heart attack on Saturday. She was 105 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Her son Gurdev Singh said she breathed her last at around 1 pm, adding that she suffered a heart attack.
Kaur had not been keeping good health for the past some months and was suffering from cancer and was admitted to a private hospital in Derabassi in Mohali.
Born on March 1, 1916, Kaur was known as the "Miracle Mom from Chandigarh". Kaur took to running at the ripe age of 93. She had won her first medal in 2007 at the Chandigarh Masters Athletics meet, in which she ran "for the heck of it" after seeing Gurdev, eldest of her three children, take part in a race in Patiala.
She shot to fame after winning the 100 metre sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland in 2017 and held several world records. She had also won golds in track and field events at the World Masters Athletic Championship in Poland.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh condoled the sad demise of the iconic veteran athlete. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister said, “I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of Mata Maan Kaur, who took up athletics at the age of 93 winning laurels for the country thus becoming a role model for all."
Sharing his heartfelt sympathies with the members of bereaved family, friends and relatives, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give courage to bear this huge loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed soul.
Maan Kaur had four world records to her name in 100+ age category and had won 35 medals at National and International level. She was conferred with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' by the President.
Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi also condoled the demise of Kaur saying that with the passing away of an inspirational soul, a huge void has been created in the world of sports.