The sporting world said goodbye to some big names this past week, with the passing of wrestling stars Hana Kimura and Shad Gaspard. Indian hockey hero Balbir Singh died at 95. Tennis great Ashley Cooper also died, as did American sports legends Jerry Sloan and Eddie Sutton.
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Balbir Singh, who won three Olympic hockey golds for India and became one his country's biggest sporting heroes, has died at the age of 95. Singh was in teams that won the Olympic title in London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1952 and led the side that won in Melbourne in 1956. His five goals in the 6-1 defeat of the Netherlands in 1952 remain a record for an Olympic final.
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The body of the former pro wrestler Shad Gaspard was found after it washed ashore on Venice Beach early on Wednesday morning, the authorities said. Gaspard, 39, was reported missing Sunday, after he was swept out to sea by a rip current while swimming with his son, Aryeh, 10, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division. Around 1.25am Wednesday, a police officer was flagged down by a person reporting that a body had washed ashore on the beach, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The body was later identified as Gaspard.
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Hana Kimura, a female professional wrestler who was among the cast of the popular Japanese reality series 'Terrace House', died on Saturday at 22, her wrestling organisation said, after she reportedly faced online bullying. While the cause of her death was not immediately known, she had recently posted messages on social media seeming to tell her fans goodbye.
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Former Australian tennis player Ashley Cooper died on Friday. The four-time Grand Slam winner was 83 years old and Tennis Australia said in a statement that Cooper died after a long time illness. Cooper won singles titles at the Australian Open in 1957 and 1958. He also won Wimbledon and US Open in 1958. He was also the top ranked tennis player in the world and led Australia's Davis Cup team to victory over the United States to retain the title in 1957.
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Jerry Sloan, who entered the NBA as an unlikely prospect for a Hall of Fame career but carved out one nevertheless as an All-Star guard with the Chicago Bulls and one of the winningest coaches in league history, died Friday at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 78. The Utah Jazz, a team he coached for 23 seasons, said the cause was Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease. Both illnesses were diagnosed in 2015, as the team had announced at the time.
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Eddie Sutton waited so long to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He couldn't hang on long enough to make it to the ceremony. The man who led three teams to the Final Four and was the first coach to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament, died Saturday. He was 84.
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