a 17-year-old Chinese player dies during a match

A 17-year-old Chinese badminton player has died after collapsing on the court during a match at an Asian tournament in Indonesia, organizers said Monday.

“Chinese singles player Zhang Zhijie collapsed on the court during a match in the evening”the Badminton Confederation of Asia and the Badminton Federation of Indonesia (PBSI) said in a joint statement.

Zhang Zhijie fell ill while facing Japan’s Kazuma Kawano in the first set with a score of 11-11 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) was transported into the rescue ambulance within two minutes and sent to the hospital”according to the press release.

Cause of death not yet identified

The young player has “was taken to hospital where he died at 11:20 p.m.” Sunday (4:20 p.m. GMT), said the press release.

“At this time, the local hospital has not yet identified the cause of death”said the Chinese Badminton Federation, which joined the two organizations behind the statement to express its “deepest condolences to the parents and family” of the player.

Zhang Zhijie started playing badminton at a young age, in kindergarten, and joined the Chinese junior national team last year.

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

On Monday, a minute of silence was observed at the team tournament which continues in Yogyakarta and the Chinese team wore black armbands as a mark 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 remarkable talent today”she wrote on the X network (formerly Twitter), presenting “his most sincere condolences” to the family of the young Chinese player.