YOGYAKARTA, July 1 – Zhang Zhi Jie, a Chinese badminton player, died during a match at the Asian Junior Championship in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday evening. He was 17 years old.
Zhang collapsed suddenly on the court in the middle of a group stage match against Japanese player Kazuma Kawano.
Despite being rushed to the hospital, Zhang passed away at 23:20 local time, according to a statement released by the sport’s regional governing body, Badminton Asia, on Monday.
“Zhang was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team and was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to the hospital,” the statement read.
“Badminton Asia, PBSI [Indonesian Badminton Association], and the Organising Committee are immensely saddened and express their deepest condolences to Zhang’s parents, family, and the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA). The world of badminton has lost a talented player,” the organization added.
Zhang was ranked 8th in the world in the junior men’s singles category. He won the U-17 Asia Junior Championship last year and claimed a men’s singles trophy at a junior championship in the Netherlands in February.
