In case you haven't already heard, Pradip Subramanian, the President and Director of the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation, passed away hours after his Muay Thai fight with Steven Lim yesterday (Sept. 23).
The fight, which took place during the Asia Fighting Championship (AFC), was originally meant to be a match between Singapore Idol alumnus Sylvester Sim and Lim.
But Sim pulled out at the last minute because of insufficient insurance coverage.
So Pradip agreed to replace Sim and fight Lim, despite having little fighting experience and virtually no background in Muay Thai.
The match saw him knocked out after several blows to the head during the match, and Lim won by technical knockout.
The cause of death, according to a preliminary medical report by the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), was a cardiac arrest respiratory failure episode, which lead to Pradip's passing.
A final medical report will be released in about 30 to 60 days, approximately 1 to 2 months from now.
Here's how netizens are reacting to Pradip's tragic demise.
Shock
No one had expected such an event, which started on a more light-hearted note, to turn into a tragedy.
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Lack of preparation
Some netizens thought that what happened was due to Pradip's lack of training and preparation for the fight:
Finding someone to blame
Some even started blaming Lim and even Sim's last-minute pull-out as a cause, but there were many others who disagreed with these opinions.
And some felt that the organisers should be responsible for what happened.
Amidst the speculation on who should be blamed for the tragedy, there was this comment:
Investigations are ongoing
According to an official statement by AFC, they are in "close contact with the medical staff at the hospital to ascertain the cause of death".
They have also requested for the public to "refrain from any speculation" and to "come together and extend our support" to Pradip’s family, friends and associates.
No matter what the cause of this tragedy might have been, Pradip, who was known to be friendly, affable and encouraging, will be greatly missed by family, friends and loved ones.
RIP, Pradip.
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