A 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia's Yogyakarta province on the island of Java, officials said on Monday.
Zhang Zhijie was playing against Kazuma Kawano of Japan at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships on Sunday when he collapsed and had seizures.
June 30: 17-year-oldbadminton player Zhang Zhijie 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
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) said medical teams treated Zhang on court, after which he was taken to hospital.
Badminton players and officials in Yogyakarta held a minute of silence on the court Monday morning before the quarterfinals.
"The world of badminton has lost a talented player," Badminton Asia and the PBSI said in a joint statement.
A spokesperson for the PBSI said that medical examinations showed that Zhang had suffered cardiac arrest.
"The conclusion of the examination and treatment of the victim at both hospitals showed the same results, namely that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest," PBSI spokesperson Broto Happy said.
Badminton world offers condolences
China's Badminton Association said it was "deeply saddened" over the player's death.
"Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team," the association said.
The Badminton World Federation offered its condolences to Zhang's family and the Chinese team.
"We offer our deepest condolences to his family, his teammates, to the Chinese Badminton Association, and the entire Chinese badminton community," the federation said.
Zhang started playing badminton in kindergarten and joined China's national youth team last year.
Earlier this year, he won the singles title at the Dutch Junior International tournament.
