Former national TT champion Manmeet Singh Walia dies

Former national table tennis champion Manmeet Singh Walia, who was suffering from rare ALS disease for nearly two years, has died in Montreal, Canada.

Manmeet was 58 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. He succumbed to the disease on Monday.

Manmeet was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disease that causes motor neuron degeneration, leading to voluntary muscle impairment.

He had visited his doctors in Coimbatore also, trying to seek advice and find a cure.

One of the finest and consistent performers in the '80s, Manmeet became the national champion in 1989 when he beat S Sriram in the men's singles final in Hyderabad.

He had represented the country at multiple international events after making his debut at the Asian Championships in 1980 along with eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta.

The Indian squad then, comprising Manjeet Singh Dua, Kamlesh Mehta, B. Arun Kumar, Manmeet and V. Chandrasekhar, led 4-2 before losing 4-5 to North Korea.

Manmeet's ..