She survived a potato-sized brain tumour and a near-fatal bout of meningitis. Now Opinder Kaur Sekhon, 65, is winning gold medals in Malaysia.The Chandigarh-based Masters athlete and mother-in-law of Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh won four medals at the 38th Malaysian International Masters Athletics Championship held in Kuala Lumpur from June 5 to 7. Competing in four events in her first international meet, she finished on the podium in all of them.Sekhon clinched gold in the discus throw with a throw of 14.75 metres and gold in the 400 metres in 1:42.35. She took silver in the 200 metres, clocking 42.59 seconds, and silver in the 100 metres in 20.37 seconds.Sekhon told The Tribune she had come back from death twice and then turned to fitness.“I underwent a seven-hour surgery in the US to remove a potato-sized brain tumour. In 2013, I was struck by brain meningitis — a condition my doctor later told me was more dangerous than the tumour itself,” she said.For twelve years, she did not know how close she had come to dying.“My doctor told me only recently, after twelve years, that he was not sure I would survive,” she told The Tribune from Kuala Lumpur. “Knowing my real condition has only made me work harder.”“I had one thing in my heart — I would not be a burden on my family. That is why I fought with my body and pushed it to its limits. When I was struggling, I drew inspiration from the late Baba Fauja Singh. I never thought I would one day become a motivation for others myself.”“Before leaving for Malaysia, I had manifested that I would win four medals. God has been kind. The year 2026 has turned out to be wonderful and lucky for me. I never expected to compete internationally after what I had been through.”“My daughter Dr Amreen Vikramaditya Singh is here in Kuala Lumpur cheering me on. My son Dr Imranjot Singh Sekhon and son-in-law Vikramaditya Singh have been supporting me. It is because of my husband JS Sekhon’s motivation that I have reached where I am today.”In March this year, Sekhon had won three gold medals at the 5th Khelo Masters National Games held at the Sector 7 Sports Complex in Chandigarh. She clocked 19.21 seconds in the 100 metres, won the 200 metres, and claimed first place in the discus throw with a distance of 24.22 metres.She has accumulated over 150 medals across national Masters events and was adjudged Best Athlete at Panjab University (1981-83) and Punjabi University (1984).Sekhon is the mother of Dr Amreen Kaur Sekhon, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Panjab University, who married Vikramaditya Singh in September 2025. Vikramaditya Singh is the son of the late six-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.Wife of advocate Jotinder Singh Sekhon, she has been a fixture on the national Masters circuit for years.