During an international badminton tournament in Indonesia, a Chinese player named Zhang Zhijie tragically died after suffering cardiac arrest in the middle of a match.
BREAKING: 17-year-old Chinese badminton player Zhang Zhijie has died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on the court during a tournament in Indonesia. pic.twitter.com/X5fg6GJVGH
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) July 1, 2024
Zhang suddenly collapsed when the score was 11-11 in the first game, while playing vs. Kazuma Kawano (Japan) at the Asia Junior Championships.
June 30: 17-year-old 🇨🇳 badminton player Zhang Zhijie (张志杰) died after collapsing on the court during a mixed team match — while playing his boys singles match against 🇯🇵 Kazuma Kawano — at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. pic.twitter.com/X8jYN2Jmd3
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) July 1, 2024
Badminton Asia/Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) gave out a statement on Monday.
"China's Zhang Zhijie, a singles player, collapsed on the court during a match in the evening... The world of badminton has lost a talented player.
"He was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team. He was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to hospital," the statement went on to read.
After originally not knowing the cause of death, a spokesman for the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) revealed the medical results in a press conference in Yogyakarta.
"Medical conclusions indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest."
At the age of 5, Zhang started playing badminton in kindergarten, and he notably joined China's national youth team last year.
Earlier this year the prodigy won the singles title at the Dutch Junior International tournament, and was regarded as a very talented up-and-coming player.
China's Badminton Association (CBA) said that it was "deeply saddened."
"Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team," the CBA said in a statement.
On Monday, teams held a moment's silence and the Chinese team had on black armbands to honor Zhang before the competition carried on; China ended up beating Taiwan 3-0.
Moment of silence untuk Zhang Zhijie.#AJC2024 pic.twitter.com/YqM1J3pa5L
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) July 1, 2024
2x Olympic winner of the sport, PV Sindhu (India), gave his respects to Zhang and his family.
Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie.
I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang's family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today.
— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) June 30, 2024
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