Chinese teen badminton player’s death sparks outcry

The death of a Chinese teenage badminton player who collapsed on court has sparked an outcry across Chinese social media.

Zhang Zhijie, 17, was competing in a youth match when he suddenly fell to the floor in convulsions. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Footage of the incident, shared widely online, showed a pause of about 40 seconds before medics rushed to attend to Zhang.

Officials have come under intense criticism and questions on whether his life could have been saved by quicker medical intervention.

Indonesia’s badminton association PBSI later said he had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

The Badminton Asia Junior Championships match had taken place in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday, with Zhang playing against Kazuma Kawano of Japan.

After Zhang collapses, a man is seen running to help him, but he stops in his tracks and appears to look off court for further instruction.

A PBSI spokesman later told reporters that medical teams had to follow a rule where they needed the referee’s permission before entering the court.

“That is in accordance with the regulations and standards of procedure that applies to every international badminton tournament,” he said.

Badminton Asia, the regional arm of the sport’s governing body Badminton World Federation, also said Zhang was taken to an ambulance within two minutes.

PBSI is now planning to ask the federation to re-evaluate this rule so it can be “more situational, for actions to be taken more quickly so that athletes can be saved if there is a similar case in the future”.

Other professional sports bodies, such as the UK’s Football Association, have a similar rule.

But on Chinese users of social media platform Weibo, there was an outpouring of anger, with many widely condemning the rule.

“Which is more important – the rules or someone’s life?” said a comment which was liked by thousands.

“Did they miss the ‘golden period’ to rescue him?” read another comment under a hashtag on Zhang’s death, which has been a trending topic on Weibo for days.

Others called for the Badminton World Federation to “overhaul” the rules, with one saying: “Why do we need permission when lives are at stake?”

Chinese state media outlet Xinhua published a commentary on Tuesday morning saying the incident “raised critical questions” about emergency response procedures at sports events.

“Regardless of how rules are formulated or how referees officiate, prioritising life should always be the highest rule on the playing field,” it said.

Zhang had been hailed as a rising star in the sport, and his death has prompted several tributes and condolences.

Badminton Asia said they were “immensely saddened” and added that “the world of badminton has lost a talented player”.