17-year-old Chinese badminton player collapses on court, passes away

Zhang Zhijie, a 17-year-old badminton player from China, passed away after he collapsed on court during an Asian Junior Championship match in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Monday.

Zhijie was playing against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano and collapsed on the court when the score was 11-11 in the first game. He was immediately given treatment by the tournament doctor and the medical team to resuscitate him. He was immediately taken in an ambulance to a hospital but he soon passed away after efforts to resuscitate him failed.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

A joint statement from Badminton Asia and Badminton Association of Indonesia condoled the shutter’s untimely demise and termed him as a talented player. “China’s Zhang Zhijie, a singles player, collapsed on the court during a match in the evening. He was sent to the hospital where he passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday. 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 world of badminton has lost a talented player,” the statement read.

China Badminton Association (CBA) condoled Zhijie’s demise and said they were ‘deeply saddened.’ “Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team. At present, the local hospital has not yet identified the cause of death,” the statement read.

Players took a moment of silence on Monday for Zhijie and the Chinese players wore black armbands as a mark of respect for their late compatriot.

Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu took to social media and termed Zhijie’s death as ‘absolutely heartbreaking’. “I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today,” Sindhu tweeted.

The teenager started badminton in kindergarten and joined China’s national youth team last year. He triumphed in the Dutch Junior International, a prestigious youth tournament, in the singles category and was primed for more success on the professional circuit.