A 20-year-old upcoming football player from Kolkata Sagar Das passed away on Tuesday evening while playing the sport. Being an ardent fan of Lionel Messi, Sagar replicated his moves during a local football match at Belgharia’s Deshapriyanagar Byamagar. While doing so, Sagar lost his balance and the ball hit his chest. Post this he got unconscious and was rushed to Kamarhati Sagar Dutta Medical College Hospital where he breathed his last breath on Wednesday morning.

Describing him as an ardent fan of football, Sagar’s cousin Samar Koyal said, “He watched each and every match till late at night during this World Cup. He was a die-hard fan of Messi. He was so obsessed with the World Cup that he forgot studies. During Tuesday's match between two local teams, he was trying to perform some moves and passes imitating Messi's style.”

While speaking to Times of India, Pranab Bhattacharya, a club member said, “He played as a striker. During the match, he was trying to imitate moves performed by Messi and other players at the ongoing World Cup. When he tried to imitate Messi's style while trying to convert a pass from a team member into a goal, he lost balance and fell. The ball hit him hard on the chest. Under the impact of the hit, he lost consciousness.”

His neighbour Pritam Dey said, “Das was a well-known n the locality for his simplicity. He was loved by everybody as a good footballer. We can’t still believe he is not more.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2018 05:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).