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Chinese Badminton Player Dies During Match At Only 17 Years Old

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.

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Zhang suddenly collapsed when the score was 11-11 in the first game, while playing vs. Kazuma Kawano (Japan) at the Asia Junior Championships.

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.

2x Olympic winner of the sport, PV Sindhu (India), gave his respects to Zhang and his family.

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