Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed profound grief over the death of veteran marathon runner Fauja Singh, who was fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle in a hit-and-run accident on Monday in his native Beas Pind village, Jalandhar district. Singh, aged 114, was celebrated as the world’s oldest marathon runner, earning the nickname “Turbaned Tornado” for his remarkable endurance.

Mann posted on X, “Fauja Singh ji made the Sikh community proud globally with his long-distance running. His legacy will live in our hearts.” Born in 1911, Singh, the youngest of four siblings in a farming family, began running marathons at 89, becoming the first centenarian to complete a full marathon at the 2011 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He set multiple age-group records, though some were unratified due to missing birth documentation.

Singh, who moved to England in the 1990s after personal tragedies, including the loss of his wife and son, returned to Punjab during the pandemic. A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, he also joined Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in a 2024 anti-drug walkathon, symbolizing resilience.

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Jalandhar police are investigating, with efforts to trace the fleeing driver ongoing, per SHO Hardevpreet Singh. The family awaits relatives from the UK and Canada for Singh’s last rites.

Opposition leaders, including Partap Singh Bajwa and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, condemned the hit-and-run, with Warring demanding justice for the “illustrious life” lost. Congress MLA Pargat Singh hailed Singh’s legacy for inspiring a drug-free Punjab.

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