Renowned wrestler and coach Sukhchain Singh Cheema died in a road accident at the Patiala bypass here on Wednesday night.
Sukhchain Singh Cheema was the son of Rustum-e-Hind Olympian wrestler Kesar Singh Cheema and father of Rustum-e-Hind Olympian Parwinder Singh Cheema.
A Maruti Alto car crashed Cheema’s Toyota Etios Liva on the way. After the collision, his vehicle fell in a nearby roadside drain. The local police reached the spot an hour after the crash and took the body to Rajindra hospital where they failed to confirm the identity.
The family travelling in the Alto car also sustained minor injuries and one of the victims informed the police about the accident. Cheema’s family contacted the local police at around 5 am and reported him missing after they failed to establish contact with him.
Cheema’s body was identified on Thursday morning. His son Palwinder Singh Cheema, who is posted as DSP (Headquarter), Fatehgarh Sahib, told Chandigarh Newsline that they have not lodged a complaint against anyone. “My father died on the spot after the vehicle hit my father’s car and it fell in a drain,” he said.
Sukhchain won the bronze medal in the 1974 Tehran Asian Games.
Sukhchain’s friend, boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, said it is a big loss to the nation as the entire family had been serving to promote wresting. India had lost a star, he added.
