Martial Arts Deaths

[GeneChing]

Indian kickboxer Yora Tade, 24, dies days after blow to head during national championship
By Theresa Braine
New York Daily News
•
Aug 25, 2022 at 4:06 pm


Yora Tade, a 24-year-old up-and-coming kickboxer from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, has died days after suffering a blow to the head during a national championship.

The athlete was rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on Sunday after a “hard knock on his head” took him down during the final match of the National Kickboxing Championship, the hospital told CNN Wednesday. He was in Chennai to compete in the Wako India Seniors National Kickboxing Championship, The Arunachal Times reported.


Indian kickboxer Yora Tade (Pema Khandu/Twitter)

Tade collapsed in the ring after opponent Kesav Mudel kicked him in the head during the match in Chennai on Sunday, the second such fatality in as many months, Agence France-Presse reported. The mixed martial arts expert was competing in the Indian edition of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations tournament.

“The patient was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition and died during treatment,” a doctor at the Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital told AFP.

The mixed martial arts expert succumbed to his injuries while in the ICU on Tuesday “without responding to treatment,” the hospital said.

Police are investigating, and authorities were working to return Tade’s body to his hometown. His death came after the July demise of Nikil Suresh, 23, who also died from a brain injury after being punched in the face by his opponent while competing in a state tournament in Bangalore, AFP said.

Tade’s death reverberated throughout the kickboxing world, starting with his home state.

“Jolted to learn that our bright Kickboxer Yora Tade left for his heavenly abode,” tweeted Pema Khandu, the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh. “Too early to leave us, dear Tade! No words to express my grief. You will ever be in our hearts. Condolences to bereaved family, friends & admirers. May your journey to ultimate abode be peaceful!”

“I am extremely shocked & sad to hear the sudden demise of Late Yora Tade; a young promising boxer of our state,” tweeted Mama Natung, the state’s minister of sports and youth affairs. “It’s a great loss for Sports fraternity of our state in general. My deepest condolence to the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace.”

Another tragic death.

[GeneChing]

Russian authorities accused of driving martial arts champion to suicide
Oleg Sorokanyuk died by suicide shortly after his gym became the subject of a criminal investigation.

By Karim Zidan@ZidanSports Nov 17, 2022, 8:30pm EST



Law enforcement in the Transbaikal region in Russia have been accused of driving a local martial arts champion to suicide.

Oleg Sorokanyuk’s body was found on Nov. 10. at a local children’s martial arts school that he founded earlier this year. The 32-year-old’s death was ruled as a probable suicide, though reports have since emerged shedding light on the circumstances leading up to the athlete’s death.

According to local Transbaikal new outlet Chita,ru, which first broke the story on Sorokanyuk’s passing, the athlete’s death took place shortly after he was interrogated by local law enforcement over allegations that one of his trainers had physically assaulted several children during a summer camp at his facility.

The reports were later confirmed by Transbaikal Minister of Sports Andrey Seredkin, who clarified that Sorokanyuk was merely a witness in the case.

“We talked with him, and Oleg said that the case did not concern him,” Seredkin said. “He was only there as a witness. In my opinion, there are more questions for another guy, whose name is Andrei.”

In October 2022, a criminal investigation was launched into Andrei Yemtsov, a 24-year-old former student of Sorokanyuk who was later hired as a trainer for the children’s summer martial arts camp. Yemtsov was accused of assaulting two young children with his first, as well as a rolling pin.

While Sorokanyuk, who also served as the president of the Federation of Pankration and MMA in Transbaikalia, was not named as an assailant, he was criticized by the authorities for hiring a trainer with no prior experience teaching martial arts or children.

“The junior coach who did not have a pedagogical education, having taken on the functions of an educator, systematically beat two young boys,” the Trans-Baikal Territory Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. “Employees of the sports school, by verbal agreement, without drawing up an employment contract, allowed outsiders who do not have the skills to work with children to work with children.”

Elena Khzanyan, the journalist who first broke the story for Chita,ru and whose own child trained under Sorokanyuk, accused local authorities of driving the athlete to suicide through their ongoing investigation—a view that was reiterated by Sorokanyuk’s family.

“He did not have the strength to fight against the system,” Khzanyan said on the VKontakte social network. “I really want all caring people who know Oleg not to ignore this.”

Both the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Transbaikalia and the local prosecutor’s office refused to comment on the situation or confirm whether an investigation will be conducted into the actions of the employees involved in assessing the criminal case.

Sorokanyuk was a three-time Russian and European champion in universal karate, as well as an avid practitioner of sambo, taekwondo, kickboxing and judo. He leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.

What an odd story.