A Singaporean bodybuilder has died after a celebrity Muay Thai fight against former Singapore Idol contestant Steven Lim in the city-state.
The match on Saturday at the inaugural Asian Fighting Championship was the 32-year-old Pradip Subramanian’s first Thai kick-boxing fight.
Subramanian was a late replacement for Lim’s original opponent, Sylvester Sim, who pulled out because of insurance issues.
About an hour after the match, he died of cardiac arrest respiratory failure, according to a preliminary medical report.
Bodybuilder Pradip Subramanian, 32, died on Saturday after taking part in a celebrity Muay Thai fight at the inaugural Asian Fighting Championship in Singapore. It was his first-ever Thai kick-boxing fight
Subramanian was a late replacement for former Singapore Idol contestant Steven Lim’s original opponent, Sylvester Sim, who pulled out because of insurance issues
About an hour after the match, he died of cardiac arrest respiratory failure, according to a preliminary medical report
Both Sim and Lim, a YouTube personality, were contestants in the first Singapore Idol series in 2004.
After the match, which was won by 41-year-old Lim, Subramanian looked shaken and had to be helped out of the ring.
He was rushed to the hospital where he died, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Sunday.
‘Rest in peace, my really truly respected fearless warrior and fighter and awesome boxing instructor, Pradip Subramanian!!!’ Lim said in a Facebook post.
His father, 67, said his family was initially unware that Subramanian was taking part in the fight, but once they learned he was geared up, they didn’t want to discourage him.
The match was part of the inaugural Asia Fighting Championship, which was organised by Axseed Events, an event management firm, and Muse Fitness Singapore, which runs a Muay Thai training facility.
Both Sim (left) and Lim (right), a YouTube personality, were contestants in the first Singapore Idol series in 2004
After the match, which was won by 41-year-old Lim, Subramanian (second from left) looked shaken and had to be helped out of the ring. He was rushed to the hospital where he died
Hundreds of friends and family members attended a wake for Subramanian in Singapore on Sunday
Subramanian died at the Singapore General Hospital at about 1300 GMT on Saturday, about an hour after he stepped into the ring, Channel NewsAsia reported on its website, citing a statement from the organisers.
‘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,’ the broadcaster reported the organisers as saying.
Sasidharan Unnithan, 38, founder of the Asia Fighting Championship, said the aftermath of the fight was handled properly.
‘It (attending to him) was immediate because the moment we stopped the fight, I put the medal on him and he collapsed into my arms, and medical attention was immediately given,’ he said. ‘There were no lapses in that area. The ambulance was there to take him straight to hospital.’
Hundreds of friends and family members attended a wake for Subramanian in Singapore on Sunday.