Mistakenly paired with professional boxer, young man left in vegetative state for life

A 26-year-old Chinese man studying for a PhD in Canada has been left in a vegetative state after being repeatedly hit in the head during a kickboxing competition.

According to SCMP, the tragedy happened last October at the Western Canada Martial Arts Championships, held at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.

Lei Zhenhuan, 26, fell into a coma after the organizers of a kickboxing tournament (an independent combat sport based on kicking and punching) mistakenly let him fight a professional boxer.

In February, Lei's mother filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against the tournament organizers and related parties.

She said the competition was advertised as “gentle,” “controlled,” and prohibited professional fighters. However, an experienced competitor who had recently competed in a kickboxing tournament in Thailand was placed in Lei’s beginner group.

This person violated the rules by repeatedly kicking Lei in the head, causing him to have a serious brain hemorrhage and fall into a coma.

After emergency treatment, doctors diagnosed that Lei "may never recover".

According to the mother's petition, even though her son showed "signs of injury", he was forced to participate in another match. This made his condition worse, leading to "severe injuries and persistent vomiting".

The victim's family accused the organizers of failing to provide adequate medical care at the scene. The call for medical assistance was delayed, with paramedics taking 90 minutes to arrive at the scene.

Doctors told Lei's mother that her son "may never recover", remaining in a vegetative state for life. The mother sued the Organizing Committee for failing to adequately protect fighters like her son.

She brought Lei back to China for further treatment in Beijing this month.

"I am a single mother, Lei is my only child. I have spent my whole life raising my child, it is not easy. Just when my child was about to receive his doctorate, my hope was shattered," she said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Lei has been pursuing a PhD in chemistry at the University of British Columbia since 2020, after completing undergraduate studies in Materials and Nanoscience at Beijing Jiaotong University (China) and the University of Waterloo in Ontario (Canada).

CBC News reported that the tragedy has sparked widespread discussion on Chinese social media, with many expressing sympathy and support for Lei and his family.

"The mother must be heartbroken to see her son injured in this state," one person commented.

"What a desperate situation. He is an only child, a PhD student, and then such a tragedy happened. Who can bear it?", another said.

"It seems like the competition is only for professional boxers to improve their performance. But the students were not informed, and the professional boxers did not show mercy. This is so strange," said another.

(According to Dan Tri, March 19)

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