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Imphal, June 10 (EMN): Former Asian Games gold medalist boxer Ngangom Dingko Singh passed away at his native Sekta village residence under Imphal East district in Manipur on Thursday morning. He was 42.
Many individuals, social and voluntary organisations condoled the sudden demise of India’s well-known boxer.
On hearing the news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet on Thursday wrote, "Shri Dingko Singh was a sporting superstar, an outstanding boxer who earned several laurels and also contributed to furthering the popularity of boxing. Saddened by his passing away. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti".
Earlier in the day, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had also tweeted, "I’m shocked and deeply saddened by the demise of Shri N Dingko Singh earlier in the morning today. A Padma Shri awardee, Dingko Singh was one of the most outstanding boxers Manipur has ever produced. My sincere condolences to the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace".
Union Youth Affairs And Sports minister, Kiren Rijiju, Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom and her colleague pugilist, Laishram Sarita from Manipur, also condoled the demise of the boxing legend. Hockey India’s president, Gyanendro Ningombam, who hailed from Manipur also sent his condolence message in a Facebook post.
The boxer Dingko, popularly known as Dingko Singh, was battling liver cancer and underwent a procedure after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2016. A major surgery was also performed in January, 2017. Since then he was on his annual treatment cycle.
Dingko became a household name in Manipur after he grabbed a gold medal in bantamweight category from Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1998 in recognition of his achievement. He also got the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2013. The then government in Manipur had even named a road in Imphal as Dingko road. He was serving as a coach at Sports Authority of India in Imphal. He is survived by his wife and two children.