Indian kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambain was shot dead as a group of unidentified gunmen fired at least 20 rounds targeting his head and chest.
The victim of the horrendous attack out of the blue was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The disturbing incident took place at Malian village in Jalandhar at around 1800 hours.
The 40 year old kabaddi player, who was one of the biggest organisers of tournaments in his village, was fired at during an ongoing kabaddi game by atleast four assailants stood behind cover.
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Video footages show men firing a number of round at a person outside the range of the camera. Said video has gone viral online since.
The gruesome incident has left the nation shocked and scared as the crowd gathered in the open stadium to witness the match scurried away from the location terrified by the noise of gun fire.
Out of the shots that were fired, it is suspected that atleast seven or eight bullets were pumped into the body of the international kabaddi star. Another youth present at the scene of the crime was reportedly shot in the leg by a projectile slug fired astray in the process.
The attack seems to be a rather co-ordianted one, with the miscreants ambushing the sportsman who is said to be in charge of running the local kabaddi league and speculations about an internal power struggle between Singh and the rest of the members in authority have been doing the rounds online.
Singh resides in England with his wife and kid, and had come down to India to be involved in the local kabaddi tournament held near his home town.
Singh played as a stopper and was said to have developed a passion for the game at a very young age and went on to play in state level matches before moving up the ladder. He has plied his trade in multiple countries such as Canada, United Kindom and the United States of America after establishing a name for himself.
Local police have initiated an investigation into the incident that claimed the life of an athlete who has represented team India on the international stage, even having captained the side on occasion.