World powerlifting medallist killed in brutal Russian street fight

Local media report Andrei Drachev died following a brawl with martial arts expert

Alleged footage of the fight apparently shows Drachev on the ground with the suspect leaning over him and hitting him (YouTube)

Russian police are conducting a country-wide search for the man who killed a world powerlifting medallist in a brutal street fight.

Andrei Drachev, a former world powerlifting championship silver medallist, died on Sunday morning following a brutal fight with a martial arts expert in the eastern city of Khabarovsk, AFP reported.

Detectives in the region said in a statement that the suspect provoked Mr Drachev by insulting him and claiming that his status as a powerlifter did not mean he would beat him in a fight.

​CCTV allegedly showing the brutal fight between the two men shows one man being kicked in the head and later repeatedly punched in the face as he lays sprawled on the ground.

Mr Drachev later died in hospital of head injuries sustained in the fight.

Police have not named the suspect, who fled the scene, though local media report he is a martial arts professional.

“The man suspected of inflicting deadly injuries to Mr Drachev is still at large and law enforcers carry on with measures aimed to detain the suspect,” Ilya Gudkov, senior aide to the head of the Khabarovsk Territory’s Investigative Committee, told Russian news agency TASS.

Police said the suspect faces between 20 years and life imprisonment for the athlete’s death.