Indian-origin bodybuilding champion in Singapore dies of natural cause after celebrity fight

An Indian-origin bodybuilding champion, who collapsed after a celebrity fight in Singapore, died of a natural cause relating to heart, the state coroner said in the findings released on 25 February.

Pradip Subramaniam, the former World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation Singapore president, died aged 32 because of two underlying heart conditions, the Channel News Asia reported citing the coroner findings.

Pradip had taken Singapore YouTuber Steven Lim, then 41, in a celebrity Muay Thai match at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands on September 23, 2017, according to the findings. State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam noted that the forensic pathologist had certified Pradip's cause of death as an abnormally enlarged heart with genetic abnormality in heart cell proteins, which is "a natural disease process".

Two medical experts stated that the pre-match medical screening was adequate, and that the on-site doctor would not have been able to detect Pradip's medical condition, as it would have required an electrocardiogram (ECG) to be conducted, the report said. Pradip had undergone a medical screening process by an on-site doctor on the day of the fight and was certified fit for the bout, it said. He also made a declaration that he was free from any adverse medical condition, it said.

The fight began at 8.12 PM, with the first round commencing uneventfully, said court documents, the report said. They started their second round at 8.15 PM, with Lim striking Pradip's face three times in a row before shoving Pradip off his balance, it said. Video footage showed that Pradip had been slow in dodging the punches thrown at him, the coroner said, it said. After this, Pradip remained in the corner of the ring and did not respond to attempts by the referee to get him to move forward. After three failed attempts to get Pradip to move forward, the referee called off the match, the report said.

Both the fighters were invited to the stage at 8.18 PM to declare the winner, and Pradip stood to the left of the referee before returning to the corner of the ring and resting his arms on the ropes while Lim gave a two-minute victory speech, it said. After Pradip received a medal, he slumped down against the padded corner column of the ring and was attended to by medical professionals, it said. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead at 9.51 PM, the report added.