Tragedy strikes Asia Fighting Championship in their first event. What was meant to be a historic night for the promotion ends in sorrow…
Just a couple weeks ago we reported the death of a bodybuilding champion in Russia. Brutally knocked out by a spinning head kick by a professional MMA fighter during a street fight, the bodybuilder was later announced dead in hospital.
These types of horrible incidents are tough to swallow, and sadly it’s happened again this weekend. This time tragedy struck in Singapore, as a celebrity kickboxing match went terribly wrong.
Taking place today (Saturday, September 23, 2017) World Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) president Pradip Subramanian faced Youtube personality Steven Lim in the inaugural Asia Fighting Championship event.
It was a celebrity kickboxing match, meant to raise the profile in the promotion’s debut event. Sadly the end result was a high-profile death, the exact opposite of what they were aiming for.
Continue reading below…
Pradip Subramanian lost the fight by TKO, according to the initial report on Channelnewsasia.com:
The 41-year-old Lim, who won the fight by a technical knockout, posted photos of himself on Facebook with the championship belt after the bout. “Pradip was rushed to the hospital no joke by ambulance!” he wrote.
Organisers said in a statement early Sunday that Subramanian died at the Singapore General Hospital at about 9pm, about an hour after he stepped into the ring.
“We are in close contact with the medical staff at the hospital to ascertain the cause of death and request that during this difficult time we should come together and extend our support to Mr Subramanian’s family, friends and associates and refrain from any speculation,” they said.
Watch the crude video of the fight below, posted by Steven Lim to Youtube…
“In the first round, it seemed like Pradip was winning. But in the second round, Steven punched him a few times,” said a backstage staff member who declined to be named.
“We all didn’t understand how he lost … could be that (Pradip) was already showing some signs of (discomfort), but I’m not really sure. Thereafter, another punch by Steven saw Pradip getting a nosebleed.
Lim would post the following on Facebook as a tribute to his fallen opponent:
“When the referee saw that there was a nosebleed, he called off the fight and consulted with some other officials. He then declared Steven Lim as the winner of the bout.
“Straightaway after the fight, Pradip (was) concussed and was helped to the backstage area. When I was at backstage with Steven Lim, I already saw (Pradip) lying on the stretcher and a few medics were fanning him.”
“Initially I thought it was just a concussion … plus there was no sign of a heart attack. He was then sent to hospital via the ambulance. It was much later that I heard the news that he died.”
An investigation is currently ongoing, but sadly nothing will bring Pradip back. Even in the most light-hearted realms of fighting, the inherent risks are just as dangerous. RIP Pradip, by all accounts he was a good man.
