India's MMA Fighter Sanyal Passes Out Due To Exhaustion; Withdraws From Asian Games

Nagoya: India's Mixed Martial Arts fighter Varun Sanyal was on Sunday forced to withdraw from the Asian Games without competing even once after exhaustion and dehydration caused him to pass out during a sauna session at his cruise ship accommodation here.

Sanyal was trying to cut weight for Sunday's competition when the incident took place. The 27-year-old was to compete in the men's traditional 77kg quarterfinal bout on Sunday, but was declared medically unfit for the event.

"Fortunately, he was found in that state by an athlete from Nepal who woke him up. Varun was able to call me and we took him to hospital," MMA Sports Federation of India president Nikhil Kunder told PTI.

"There was nothing to be worried about. He was brought back to the cruise ship around 3:00am. He was hydrated, the doctors here are attending to him. He is stable, can speak and is out of trouble," he added.

Sanyal had earlier grabbed headlines for his account of the logistical chaos that gripped the Games because of which several athletes, him included, had to wait for eight to 10 hours without food to get their rooms.

It is not clear if the ordeal had a role in his breakdown on Sunday.

"Of course, he will not play now. He is medically unfit," Kunder said.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said in a statement that Sanyal "suffered from generalised cramps and body ache while in the sauna last evening in his cruise accommodation".

"He underwent a medical examination and precautionary blood tests, which were normal. Despite rest, the following morning, he felt not fully fit to participate in a combat sport. After consultation with his coach, he withdrew on medical grounds," the IOA said.

Sanyal is one of the two Indian MMA fighters participating in the Asian Games. He was a late addition to the squad.

The other MMA team member, Suchika Tariyal has confirmed India's first medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games by advancing to the semifinals of the women's traditional 60kg event on Sunday.