Hakam Singh Bhattal, the former Indian athlete who had won a gold medal at the 1978 Asian Games, has passed this morning in a hospital in Sangrur, reported ANI. Hakam was also the Dhyan Chand award. The former athlete was battling liver and kidney ailments and was said to be critical. Hakam received a help of Rs 10 lakhs from the Sports Ministry after it came to light that his family was struggling to meet expenses.

During the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok Hakam cliched the gold medal in the 20 km walk. He has also served as Naik in the Army after his joining in 1972. It is reported that in 1987 Hakam was forced to retire from Army after an altercation with seniors. He had argued for promotion after winning the medal at Asian Games, which he was apparently denied.

However, Hakam had recently won the case and was assured of pension and other benefits. ā€œMy father won the case in the Army tribunal ago against his forcible retirement and he will get his pension and other benefits from 1987. He was removed from the Army after having a tiff with his senior for not promoting him,ā€ Sukhjit, Bhattalā€™s son was quoted as saying by The Tribune.

Hakam, who was also inducted in 6 Sikh regiment, apart from Asian Gamesā€™ success, bagged a gold medal at the 1979 Asian Track and Field Championships in Tokyo. He suffered an accident in 1981 and that halted his career. He later took to coaching.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2018 12:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).