Asian Games Medal-Winning Wrestler And Prominent Coach Sukhchain Singh Cheema Dies In A Car...

Less than a week after five powerlifters, including world champion Saksham Yadav, were killed in a car accident on the Delhi-Haryana border, another road accident killed one of India's best known wrestlers and coaches.

Winner of the bronze medal at the 1974 Tehran Asiad and recipient of the Dronacharya award, Sukhchain Singh Cheema, 68, died when his car was hit by an Alto on the Patiala bypass at around 7 pm. The impact overturned his Etios Liva car, leaving him with severe head injuries.

Sukhchain, who was driving his car, was on the way to his farmhouse in Bhandri village when an Alto hit his car near Mein village. The car overturned and fell into a drain nearby.

Passersby and the occupants of the Alto car tried to pull Sukhchain out of the mangled remains of his car, but were not able to open the damaged doors. Police officials told TOI that precious time was lost at the first responders did not have the tools to cut open the car's doors.

With help from more people, the rescuers finally managed to pull open one of the doors and pull Sukhchain out. They rushed him to the Government Rajindra Hospital, but he was declared brought dead by the doctors. The occupants of the Alto received minor injuries and were discharged from hospital after treatment.

Sukhchain belonged to virtually the first family of wrestling in Punjab. Having shifted to Patiala from Pakistan after Partition, the Cheemas received the patronage from the last ruler of Patiala state Maharaja Yadwinder Singh.

Sukhchain's father Kesar Singh had won the 'Rustam-e-Hind' and 'Bharat Kesri' titles and represented India at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. The family's traditional akhara is located a stone's throw from National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

Doctors at Rajindra hospital said when Sukhchain was brought in, no one could recognise him as he had suffered injuries on the forehead and his face was splattered with blood.