The defeat Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, at the current FIFA World Cup 2018, last Saturday proved to be too much to swallow for a particular fan in faraway India who committed suicide as a result.
Things took a tragic turn after a 20-year-old fan was found hanging at his home in West Bengal on Sunday morning.
Mantosh Haldar was a resident of Chhatiangachhi village in Malda district in West Bengal and committed suicide, investigations have suggested. “He (Mantosh) was a football lover and a fan of Maradona and Argentina. He used to spend most of his time watching football on TV and playing with local lads. After Argentina’s defeat on Saturday night, he became very upset. He did not even talk to us. Later this morning, we found him hanging in the room,” said his father according report from The Telegraph.
“Mantosh was a diehard fan of Maradona and the Argentina team. He was also a fan of Messi. He could not perhaps bear the shock of his favourite team’s defeat and apprehended that he would not be able to see Messi in the next World Cup,” a neighbour said. He added, “Whenever he managed to get some spare time, he used to watch the game on television or play at the local ground. We are shocked because we never expected that he would take such a drastic step.”
The local police have also initiated a probe in the matter. “We have spoken to the deceased youth’s family members and it seems he committed suicide after the defeat of his favourite team,” a police source told the publication.
Sadly, this is not the first case of suicide involving an Argentina fan in recent weeks. Last week, a Messi fan in Kerala was found to be dead, days after being reported missing from his home. Dinu John, a 30-year-old, had left a suicide note stating that he had nothing left to see after the Albiceleste’s 3-0 loss at the hands of Croatia in the second round of the group stage.
In the enthralling match, Argentina, though conceded first, had raced into a 2-1 lead against the French side. However, a magnificent strike from Benjamin Pavard and a sublime brace from French teenager Kylian Mbappe condemned the 2014 runners-up to an early exit.
