Chinese badminton player dies on court during competition

The athlete was only 17 years old.

Chinese badminton player Zhang Zhijie died of cardiac arrest during a match at the Asian Junior Championships in Indonesia. The incident occurred on Sunday during a meeting between Zhang Zhijie and his Japanese opponent.

Footage from the competition shows the Chinese athlete collapsed on the court and, not realizing what had happened to him, made several futile attempts to get up. First aid was provided to the teenager within 2 minutes, and then he was hospitalized, but they could not save him.

"Upon learning of the incident, the Chinese Consulate General in Surabaya immediately contacted the Indonesian side and coordinated all rescue efforts and dispatched personnel to the incident site," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

The Chinese Badminton Association said that there is still no information about the cause of Zhang's death and expressed concern about the timeliness of providing medical care to the junior.

It is reported that Zhang Zhijie was included in the Chinese national team last year. A few months ago, a promising athlete won a prestigious junior tournament in the Netherlands.