Chandigarh: The legendary marathoner Fauja Singh, known by the nickname "Turbaned Tornado" was cremated with state honours at his native village Beas in Punjab’s Jalandhar district.
Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, chief minister Bhagwant Mann and minister Mohinder Bhagat attended the funeral of the 114-year old marathon runner. Senior leaders from across the parties including Congress’ Pargat Singh, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Daljit Singh Cheema also attended the funeral, besides a large number of mourners who thronged Fauja Singh’s house in his native village since early morning.
Fauja Singh’s son Harvinder Singh lit the funeral pyre.
Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathoner, was hit by an SUV being driven by an NRI, identified as Amritpal Singh Dhillon, on July 14 last, when the former was crossing the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway.
The family expressed pride in the achievements of the legendary marathon runner, for whom it also received a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi which read "An extraordinary personality, Shri Fauja Singh Ji, inspired one and all, particularly India’s youth to make fitness an integral part of their daily life. His unwavering determination and remarkable achievements as an athlete truly sets him apart…. That he (Fauja Singh) took up long-distance running at a very advanced age speaks volumes of not only his physical fitness, but more importantly, his mental strength and resilience’’.
Fauja Singh had started running at the age of 89 to fight loneliness and depression, after the death of his wife and son in an accident. He ran in 18 marathons starting in London in 2000, while his last three marathons were in Toronto in 2011, in London in 2012 and in Hong Kong in 2013 after which he retired.
