Third sports-related death in UAE in 2026: Indian expat collapses after badminton match in Dubai

The latest incident

Ranjith Vijayan, 52, a native of Kerala in southern India, worked as general manager for logistics and supply chain at an engineering and industrial solutions company based in Dubai. He had been with the firm for 26 years, a company spokesperson told Gulf News. The preliminary death notification listed cardiac arrest as the cause, the spokesperson added, confirming that the company is assisting his family with repatriating his remains.

Ranjith is survived by his wife Rashmi, who resides in the UAE, and a son Rithvik, who is pursuing higher education in India after completing his schooling in the Emirates.

According to colleagues, Ranjith collapsed on Saturday morning at a school in Dubai Land, where he played badminton every weekend with friends, mainly colleagues. Santhosh Kumar Parayil, general manager for HR and administration and coordinator of repatriation procedures, said: “He would go to play badminton with friends, mainly colleagues, every weekend. They book the indoor court at the school and play for around two hours, usually from 8 to 10.”

Santhosh said Ranjith, a resident of Ras Al Khor, felt some uneasiness after the game and then collapsed. “He was completely alright and did not have any health issues. Unfortunately, this was a cardiac arrest, and he is not known to have shown any symptoms of heart disease earlier,” he said.

Tito Thomas, a senior credit control manager who was Ranjith’s colleague, close friend and neighbour, said the game was a fixture in his life. “He was not a seasonal player. He was a regular [at the weekend games]. Earlier, we also played badminton on weekdays with another group. On other weekdays we work out in the gym,” Tito said.

He said the group was about to leave when it happened, inside the school premises. “He reported breathing difficulty, and that’s when we stopped playing. He was about to go to the place where he had kept his bag. Suddenly he slowed down and collapsed,” Tito recalled. “Immediately, our colleague who is trained in CPR started giving him CPR as soon as he slowed down. The school’s security staff also gave him CPR. They took turns until the first responders arrived.”

An ambulance reached the school within five minutes, according to Santhosh. Tito said a doctor also arrived soon in an ambulance, and Ranjith was rushed to a private hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival.

Tito said the group always took care to avoid overexertion. “We don’t play non-stop. We play on a rotational basis, and people take breaks. If someone feels tired, we usually stop. Sometimes badminton players find it difficult to catch their breath and we never thought it was anything more than that.” He said Ranjith looked after his health. “He followed good food habits. Every vacation, he made sure he underwent a medical check-up, and there was nothing. He was also very particular about drinking water and made sure to complete four bottles of water. He would finish one bottle when we work out in the morning. There were no lapses.”

Santhosh said friends and colleagues are standing by the family during this difficult time, while the company is processing the repatriation formalities. Colleagues are still in shock, especially those who were with him in his final moments.

Two earlier deaths in June

The earlier cases also involved friends engaged in an activity they loved, and those who died were even younger. Anwar Sadiq, 43, also from Kerala, died of cardiac arrest after a badminton session in Ajman on 17 June. Three days earlier, on 14 June, Safwan Shanu, 38, from Karnataka, collapsed and died while playing cricket in Al Garhoud, Dubai.

Anwar Sadiq, a father of two who had lived in the UAE for around 15 years, went for his regular badminton game with friends in Ajman on the night of 17 June. According to his brother-in-law, he complained of pain in his left hand during the session and stepped away from the court, and his blood pressure was reportedly normal. After resting and having a lemon soda, he decided to head home but collapsed in his car in the parking area. Fellow players called an ambulance and gave first aid, but he could not be revived. The death notification recorded cardiac arrest as the cause at 9:51 PM.

Anwar worked as a procurement manager at a company in Sharjah and lived in Ajman with his wife and two school-going children. His father had also died of a heart attack in Kuwait more than 10 years earlier. Community volunteers helped the family repatriate his body, and he was laid to rest in his hometown in Kerala.

Days earlier, Safwan Shanu, a Dubai-based businessman who ran a food trading company, died after a weekly Sunday morning cricket game that had been held in a parking lot in Al Garhoud for nearly nine years. He had scored 46 runs and hit six sixes when he went to the non-striker’s end, sat down briefly, gestured for water and collapsed. “There was no warning. He was perfectly fine just seconds before,” Nabil Karikal, a close friend who was on the pitch, recalled. Friends performed CPR and called an ambulance, which arrived in seven minutes, but Safwan was pronounced dead at hospital. The cause was confirmed as a heart attack. Safwan is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter who was only four months old when he died.