An Entertainment Muay Thai Bout Between Two Singaporean Celebs Went Horribly Wrong
One of the celebs, Pradip Subramanian, died after the match.
The inaugural Asia Fighting Championship (AFC) match on Saturday, 23 September, between World Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) president Pradip Subramanian and YouTube personality Steven Lim went horribly wrong
The kick-boxing match, which was supposed to be a publicity cum entertainment bout between two celebs, resulted in the death of 32-year-old Pradip Subramanian.
The WBPF president was rushed to the Singapore General Hospital after the bout, where he died at 9pm, about an hour after he stepped into the ring.
Subramanian was a last minute replacement for Singapore Idol alumnus, singer Sylvester Sim who withdrew from the match due to insurance issues. It was Subramanian's first public Muay Thai match.
The fight, scheduled for two rounds, each taking two minutes, was part of the inaugural AFC event and was one of a number of Muay Thai fights scheduled.
While Pradip seemed in better shape than Steven, he took several blows to the head during the match. The match was stopped by the referee during the second round after Pradip was knocked down. Steven was awarded the victory by technical knockout.
"After the fight, he (Pradip) was in a corner and he looked exhausted, like in a normal knock-out, which was quite normal for the sport and it didn't look so serious. Then he slowly went down in the corner, and he was later carried out," one of the participants who fought at the event was quoted as saying by Straits Times.
The AFC issued the following statement:
"We are deeply saddened to share the news that Mr. Pradip Subramanian, Exhibition Match-Up fighter and President of the WBPF has passed away at the SGH.
"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.
"Mr. Subramanian’s project, the AFC Physique Championships (APC), which is scheduled for 24th September 2017 will be cancelled as a mark of respect."
An official press conference/statement will be held in due course, the statement read.