Chandigarh, May 28 -- Veteran sports administrator, Olympian and India's first Asian Games shooting gold-medallist Randhir Singh passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79 after battling age-related ailments, bringing to a close one of the most influential chapters in the country's sporting history. He had been hospitalised for several days before breathing his last at his residence. His last rites will be performed in Haridwar on Thursday afternoon.

A member of the erstwhile Patiala royal family and a descendant of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, Randhir Singh remained deeply intertwined with Patiala's rich sporting heritage throughout his life. He scripted history at the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games when he won the trap shooting gold medal, becom...