(Reuters) -Badminton Asia and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed condolences on Monday over the death of 17-year-old Chinese player Zhang Zhijie, who had collapsed on court during the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Zhang collapsed during a match against Japan, Indonesia’s Badminton Association (PBSI) and Badminton Asia said in a joint statement. The tournament’s medical team arrived on the scene before an ambulance took him to a hospital, where Zhang died at 11:20 p.m, they said.
“Badminton Asia, PBSI and the organising committee are immensely saddened and expressed their deepest condolences to Zhang’s parents, family and Chinese Badminton Association,” they said.
Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee also offered their deepest condolences on Zhang’s death.
China’s badminton association told state-backed China Newsweek on Monday that they were in communication with the Indonesian side about concerns over whether Zhang had received timely medical attention.
“After learning about the incident, the Chinese Consulate General in Surabaya immediately contacted and coordinated with the Indonesian side’s full rescue efforts, and sent personnel to the site of the incident,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing on Monday.
“We express our deep regret and condolences for the unfortunate death.”
“Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the National Youth Badminton Team,” the Chinese Badminton Association said in a statement, expressing condolences.
“At present, the local hospital has not been clear about the cause of the” athlete’s demise, the CBA said, adding that the Badminton Federation of Asia, the Organising Committee and the Indonesian parties were monitoring the situation.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru and Ella Cao in Beijing; additional reporting by Ethan Wang Editing by Peter Rutherford and Bernadette Baum)
