A 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died after collapsing on court during an international tournament in Indonesia, officials said on Monday, mourning the player as an “outstanding” and “talented” person.
Zhang Zhijie suddenly fell ill late Sunday while playing against Japan’s Kono Kazuma at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta.
With the first game tied at 11-11, Zhang collapsed to the floor and was treated at the venue and taken to hospital by ambulance, but never regained consciousness.
The cause of death was not immediately determined.
“Chinese singles player Zhang Zhijie collapsed on court during his evening match,” Badminton Asia and the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) said in a joint statement on Monday. “He was rushed to hospital where he passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday.”
“He was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team. He was loaded into a waiting ambulance within two minutes and taken to hospital.”
“Badminton has lost a talented player,” the statement added.
Zhang started playing badminton when she was in kindergarten and joined the Chinese youth national team last year.
He won the singles title at the prestigious youth tournament, Holland Junior International, earlier this year.
The Chinese Badminton Association expressed “deep sadness” at the incident.
“Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding player for the national youth badminton team,” the CBA said in a statement.
“At this time, local hospitals have not determined the cause of death,” he added.
A moment of silence was held on Monday at the team match in the city of Yogyakarta, and the Chinese team wore black armbands as a mark of respect.
India’s P.V. Sindhu, who won silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, said Zhang’s death was “absolutely heartbreaking”.
“My deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this tragic time,” Sindhu, who was not at the tournament, wrote on Twitter.
“Today the world lost a great talent.”
