2022 Rewind: From Pele to Shane Warne, sporting icons who passed away this year

2022 Rewind: From Pele to Shane Warne, sporting icons who passed away this year

Dec 30, 2022 - 16:30
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2022 Rewind: From Pele to Shane Warne, sporting icons who passed away this year

Sports is inspiring and captivating. Sporting icons become immortal to their fans, but life has to end for everyone one day. Several big names from the sporting fraternity, athletes and sports personalities, passed away in the year which is now about to come to an end.

We take a look at notable deaths in the sporting fraternity, as of 2022, and celebrate their legacies.

Pele

One of the greatest footballers of all time, Pele died on 30 January in a hospital in Sao Paulo due to multiple organ failure after a long battle with cancer. He was 82. The only player to win three football World Cups – 1958, 1962 and 1970 – Pele scored over 1,000 goals in his career and was also named the athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999.

The first global star of the game, Pele played the most significant role in making football a commercial powerhouse. More importantly, the footballing great was also a cultural icon who had fans in every corner of the world.

Bill Russell

Bill Russell, one of the greatest NBA players of all time, passed away on 31 July this year at the age of 88. He was part of the legendary Boston Celtics side of the 1950s and 1960s and won 11 NBA championship titles with the team including two as a player-coach. He was the first black coach in any major US sport. Russell also won MVP awards five times and All-Star MVP once.

The biggest legacy of Russell is his work as a civil right activist. The legendary baller once marched with Martin Luther King Jr, supported Muhammad Ali and was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Shane Warne

The cricket world was in for a major shock on 4 March this year when the news broke that Shane Warne passed away at the age of 52. He was found unconscious in his villa at a Thailand resort and could not be revived. Later, the autopsy report stated that he died of “natural” causes.

Considered the greatest spinner of all time, Warne took 1,001 wickets in 339 international matches. More than that Warne is credited for reviving leg spin as an art of bowling and for being the greatest exponent of the skill.

Charanjit Singh

On 27 January this year, India lost its 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team captain, Charanjit Singh. He died of cardiac arrest at 90.

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