A battle that Vivek couldn't win

He fought cancer with the grit the former Olympic centre-forward Vivek Singh was famous for. His brave resistance lasted more than four years before it ended on Wednesday. The younger the patient, the bigger is the danger of death by cancer, it is said. Yet it was his sheer will-power not to give up to the disease that kept his battle alive since 2000.
Earlier it was detected in the urinary bladder.But last year, the disease struck in a big way and damaged most of the vital organs, including his lungs, once Vivek''s forte.
His lung power, coupled with neat stick work, made him an untiring centre-half. The lanky Varanasi lad rose from the Lucknow Sports Hostel field to grace the turfs of 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 1990 World Cup in Lahore and Asiad in Beijing. He donned the Indian shirt in about 200 international games before packing up his hockey-stick.
Ever since he was diagonsed to be suffering from the awesome disease, he was waging his own war with the help of his employers North-Eastern Railway. But cancer is one disease in which the money has no value and yet it is the most crucial to keep the war against it going on.
"Everybody has to die. In my case it is different since I know where it is sneaking in from. I don''t fear it. Nor I have lost hope. I will fight it," he said once. He was true. Battling this problem for nearly five years really requires a big courage and conviction.
It was only last year when this paper and modern-day Dhyanchand, Md Shahid, brought the Vivek''s plight to the light, the player got encouraging financial help from all quarters. Alas when it came, he had run out of his steam!
Vivek used to mention his two burning desires - one to see India win a medal in the 2004 Olympics and the other was that his daughters go on to play for the country in the Olympics. Sadly the former could not be fulfilled.
The state government, as happens very commonly with it, had forgotten him since his glory days. However it woke up just in time and managed to do a bit face saving. Still it can be said without hesitation that the state government did not extend him the honour that he deserved. However Vivek could still get some solace from the fact that he was at last presented with the highest sports award. It was last year that he was chosen for the Laxman Award. Now that Vivek is no more among us. His deeds and the combat with cancer should be remembered as long as possible.