New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) China’s 17-year-old shuttler Zhang Zhi Jie passed away after collapseing in court during a match against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Zhang was rushed to the hospital immediately but any attempt to help him went in vain as he passed away at 11:20 PM local time on Sunday night.
Following the devastating news, ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu paid her respect for the ‘remarkable talent’.
“Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie. I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today,” read the post by Sindhu on X.
A moment of silence was held at the tournament on Monday with the Chinese contingent wearing black armbands in his honour. Zhang joined China’s national youth squad last year.
Earlier this year, he won the singles title at the prestigious Dutch Junior International young competition.
“China’s Zhang Zhijie, a singles player, collapsed on the court during a match in the evening.He was sent to the hospital where he passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday. He was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team. He was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to hospital. The world of badminton has lost a talented player,” read a joint statement by the Badminton Asia and the Badminton Association of Indonesia on Monday.
“Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team. At present the local hospital has not yet identified the cause of death,” Chinese Badminton Association said in a statement.
–IANS
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