Milkha Singh's daughter running marathon shifts as doctor amid pandemic
Mona Milkha Singh is an ER doctor battling the COVID-19 pandemic from the Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York.
Legendary Indian track and field athlete Milkha Singh’s daughter has been running a very different race at a hospital in New York over the past month.
The Flying Sikh’s daughter, Mona Milkha Singh finds herself in a marathon battle against the COVID-19 pandemic as an ER doctor at the Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York.
“So, when someone comes with the coronavirus symptoms, she has to treat them,” Mona’s brother and renowned golfer, Jeeva Milkha Singh told the Press Trust of India.
Mona has been practising medicine for two decades now after graduating from Patiala Medical College and moving to the US in the 1990s.
“I am so proud of her,” the four-time European Tour champion.added. “She says it is like running a marathon every day.
“She has been working five days a week, sometimes day shifts, sometimes night shifts, 12-hour shifts, and it is tough, but she has to do the job as best as she can,” he said.
The Indian golfer also admitted being concerned about his sister with America being the worst affected country and New York one of its worst-affected states.
“I feel worried. When you are treating people, anything can happen, so we talk to her every day. My mom and dad also keep checking on her,” the five-time Asian Tour winner stated.
A doctor from a family of sports fanatics
Despite hailing from a family of sports enthusiasts, Mona Milkha Singh opted not to pursue a career in sports.
While her father Milkha Singh’s – independent India’s first individual sports star – multiple records, medals, and achievements are well documented, the fact that her mother Nirmal Kaur is a former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team is less known.
“Sometimes, she sounds disheartened after seeing so many deaths but then she gets back to work,” Nirmal Kaur told the Indian Express. “Talking with us lifts her spirits.”
Mona’s brother Jeev Milkha Singh, meanwhile, established himself in the world of golf as the first-ever Indian to join the European Tour in 1998.
He’s the most successful Indian on tour having won four events on the European Tour and was the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking.