Zhang Zhijie ( zh, s=张志杰, t=張志傑, p=Zhāng Zhìjié; 30 January 2007 – 30 June 2024) was a Chinese badminton player. He played for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the 2024 Badminton Asia Junior Championships before his death.

Career

Zhang won the 2024 Dutch Junior International beating fellow Chinese player Hu Zhean 21–10, 11–21, 13–21. Zhang went on to reach the final at the 2024 German Junior before losing to Wang Zijun 13–21, 21–16, 16–21. At the 2024 Badminton Asia Junior Championships' award ceremony, Zhang's jersey was lifted onto the podium. He was awarded the gold posthumously.

Death

Zhang was playing against Kazuma Kawano in a match during the 2024 Badminton Asia Junior Championships. He collapsed onto the court when the score was 11-11 and died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. Indian badminton player P. V. Sindhu and Malaysian badminton player

Lee Chong Wei Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former professional badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth ...

offered condolences to Zhang's family.

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member ...

Badminton Asia Badminton Asia is the governing body of badminton in Asia. It is one of the five continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation. Established in 1959, it was headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until it moved to Maldives b ...

Chinese Badminton Association Chinese Badminton Association () is a national non-governmental, non-profit sports organisation in China. It represents China in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) as well as the sport of badminton in ...

and

Badminton Association of Indonesia The Badminton Association of Indonesia (; 'All Indonesia Badminton Association'; abbreviated as PBSI) is the governing body of badminton in Indonesia. It was founded on 5 May 1951 in Bandung. The PBSI joined the Badminton Asia Confederation in 1 ...

said that they were deeply saddened by the loss of Zhang. Following the announcement of Zhang's death, there was an outpouring of international outcry over the events leading up to his death, after a video of his death showed a medic running towards Zhang, then stopping at the edge of court to wait for the referee to give permission. In addition, there has been widespread condemnation in China over the actions of the medical staff at the venue. The Indonesian medical personnel did not administer an AED or CPR to Zhang, they had instead taken 2 minutes to fit him onto a stretcher. In response, the Badminton Association of Indonesia announced that they would ask the Badminton World Federation to re-consider the rule requiring medics to wait for permission before attending to players. As of 18 July 2024, Zhang’s body is still being held at the Dr. Sardjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta, even after his family’s arrival from China. The situation has left many questioning the delay in repatriating the deceased player’s remains.

Achievements

BWF Junior International (1 title, 1 runner-up)

''Boys' singles'' : BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament : BWF Junior International Challenge tournament : BWF Junior International Series tournament : BWF Junior Future Series tournament

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Zhijie 2007 births 2024 deaths Chinese male badminton players Sportspeople from Jiaxing Sports competitors who died in competition Sport deaths in Indonesia Badminton players from Zhejiang Filmed deaths in sports Filmed deaths in Asia