17-year-old Chinese badminton player dies during tournament in Indonesia

A 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died on Sunday after falling on the field while playing at an Asian tournament in Indonesia, organizers said Monday.

“Chinese player Zhang Zhijie collapsed during the day’s play,” the Asian Badminton Confederation and Indonesian Badminton Federation (PBSI) said in a joint statement.

Zhang Zhijie collapsed while facing Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships in Yogyakarta, on the Indonesian island of Java.

“He was treated by the tournament doctor and medical team, and in less than two minutes he was transported by ambulance and sent to the hospital,” the statement said.

The young player “was taken to hospital where he died at 11:20 p.m.” on Sunday (5:20 p.m. in Lisbon), the same report said.

“At this time, the local hospital has not yet determined the cause of death,” said the Chinese Badminton Federation, which joined the two organizations behind the announcement to express their “most sincere condolences to the player’s parents and family.”

Zhang Zhijie started playing badminton at an early age and joined the Chinese youth team last year.

Earlier this year, he won the singles title at the Dutch Junior International, a prestigious youth tournament held in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

A minute of silence was observed at the team tournament in Yogyakarta on Monday, with the Chinese team wearing black armbands as a sign of respect.

Indian player Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, who won Olympic silver and bronze in 2016 and 2021 respectively, called Zhang’s death “absolutely heartbreaking”.

“The world has lost a great talent today,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), offering his “sincerest condolences” to the young Chinese player’s family.