17-year-old tennis player dies of cardiac arrest at Asian youth tournament

With the score at 11-11 in his match against Japanese player Kazuma Kawano, Zhang stood and prepared to receive the ball, when he suddenly staggered and fell forward. His whole body convulsed for nearly 20 seconds, then he lay motionless. A minute later, medical staff appeared to give him first aid, then took him by ambulance to the hospital, but it was too late.

"The medical conclusion shows that Zhang suffered a sudden cardiac arrest," Indonesian Badminton Federation spokesman Broto Happy said at a press conference in Yogyakarta.

Zhang's parents are on their way to the hospital to receive their son's body.

Mr Happy defended the actions of the medical staff, despite video showing their delay in treating Zhang. He said the medical staff had to wait for instructions from the referee to be allowed onto the pitch.

"The badminton world has lost a talented player," the Badminton Asia Federation wrote.

Zhang started playing badminton in kindergarten and joined the Chinese youth team in 2023. Earlier this year, he won the men's singles at a prestigious international junior tournament in the Netherlands. The Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) said it was "deeply saddened" by the news. "Zhang loved badminton very much and was an outstanding young player in China," the CBA said.

The 2024 Asian Junior Badminton Championships will be held from June 28 to July 7 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for U19 players. Zhang, born on April 29, 2007 in Jingzhou, Hubei Province, China, is the seventh seed in the men's singles.

Today, July 1, all athletes observed a minute of silence for Zhang, and Chinese players wore black armbands to remember him. China continued to compete, and beat Taiwan 3-0.