Chinese youth badminton team
17-year-old men's singles main Zhang Zhijie
Last night in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Participated in the 2024 Asian Youth Badminton Championships
Fell to the ground and fainted during the mixed team group stage,
He was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment and unfortunately passed away.
The Asian Youth Championship mixed team 1/4 finals continued today. Before the start of the competition, all the participants of the Chinese team mourned for their deceased teammates, and then eliminated the Chinese Taipei team 3-0 and advanced to the semifinals.
Details of the rescue were announced
In yesterday's mixed team group stage, China's opponent was Japan. In the first two sets of mixed doubles and women's singles, the Chinese team fought 1-1 with their opponents.
Zhang Zhijie appeared in the third set of the men's singles, and after playing 11-11 with his opponent Kawano Shoujin in the first game, he suddenly fell to the ground and fainted, and the tournament organizing committee immediately treated him. The Chinese team continued to play after that, beating Japan 3-2. Zhang Zhijie was sent to the hospital after the rescue was ineffective, and unfortunately passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday.
The Asian Badminton Federation and the Indonesian Badminton Association issued an announcement this morning confirming Zhang Zhijie's death. The announcement mentioned that Zhang Zhijie fainted in the group stage against the Japanese team, and the tournament doctor and medical team rescued him. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance in less than two minutes.
The Asian Badminton Federation (BWF) and the Indonesian Badminton Federation (BWF) would like to express their deepest condolences to Zhang Zhijie's parents, family and the Chinese Badminton Association, and lament the loss of a talented player in the world badminton world.
The Chinese Badminton Association issued a document in the morning that Zhang Zhijie suddenly fainted on the court when he participated in the last game of the group stage of the team competition. During the period of being sent to the hospital and being rescued in the hospital, the leader of the Chinese team and other relevant staff have been by Zhang Zhijie's side, and the Chinese embassy and consulates in Indonesia have also provided full assistance.
The Chinese Badminton Association revealed that the local hospital in Indonesia has not yet identified the cause of the disease, and the association will do its best to help Zhang Zhijie's family and do a good job in the aftermath.
On July 1, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference. Mao Ning said that we have also heard this sad news. After learning of the incident, the Chinese Consulate General in Surabaya immediately contacted and coordinated the Indonesian side to make all-out efforts to treat the incident, and sent personnel to the place where the incident occurred. We deeply regret and mourn the unfortunate passing of the person concerned and express our condolences to his family. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to guide the Consulate General in Surabaya to do a good job in the follow-up work within the scope of its duties.
Family members voiced doubts
Zhang Zhijie was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province in 2007, and has been exposed to badminton since kindergarten, and was transferred to the Zhejiang provincial team in the third grade of primary school, and will enter the national youth team in 2023. He has won the men's singles championship of the 15-year-old group in the U15-17 finals of the 2022 National U-Series Badminton Competition, the men's singles champion and men's team champion in Group B of the 2023 National Youth Badminton Championships, the men's singles champion in the 2024 Dutch Youth Badminton International Championships, and the men's team champion in Group B of the 2024 National Youth Badminton Championships.
Zhang Zhijie's last interview before his death came from CCTV, in which Zhang Zhijie expressed his spirit of not admitting defeat, wanting to prove himself through results and competitions, and saying that he would rush forward bravely.
According to reports, after learning the bad news, Zhang Zhijie's family was grief-stricken, and his sister posted: "He is only 17 years old, and after a long wait for medical staff to arrive after falling to the ground on the field, you said that the treatment will be carried out as soon as possible, saying that the local medical conditions are too poor, how can I accept it!" ”
Zhang Zhijie's sister also posted: "Zhang Zhijie, you are only 17 years old, and you only sent home the certificate you sent to the university yesterday." ”
On July 1, Mr. Zhu, a badminton enthusiast in Jiaxing City, introduced that some local badminton groups were discussing this matter and expressed regret for Zhang Zhijie's unexpected death. "Zhang Zhijie is in high school in Hangzhou, a very good young man." The reporter learned from a person in charge of the Jiaxing Sports Bureau that Zhang Zhijie's mother had learned the bad news, and his family was going through the formalities to go to Indonesia. At present, the local government staff is condolences at Zhang Zhijie's home, and she is also on her way to Zhang Zhijie's home to express condolences.
When the bad news came, many badminton spectators questioned the treatment at the event site, believing that the tragedy could have been avoided.
According to reports, about 30 seconds after Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground, the on-site event medical team entered the stadium, and after about 30 seconds, Zhang Zhijie was carried out of the stadium on a stretcher for further treatment. It can be seen from the scene that from the time Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground to the time he was carried off the field on a stretcher, the medical team at the venue did not administer AED (external defibrillator) or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) first aid, and the specific treatment in the ambulance and hospital after that remains to be further disclosed by the event.
A medical staff member of the domestic professional badminton team said that judging from the current public on-site situation, there is indeed a possibility that the first aid will be delayed, "Cardiac arrest should be considered first for non-contact fainting and falling to the ground, especially in high-intensity professional matches, even if the AED does not intervene at the first time, CPR should be taken." "In addition, whether the necessary measures have been taken during the hospital delivery process (to be announced), and the ambulance (inside) also needs to carry out a series of rescue measures such as external defibrillation at the first time."
An emergency doctor from a tertiary hospital in Chongqing said in an interview: "Judging from the video, Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground and had convulsions without contact, and then died unexpectedly after being sent to the hospital, which is basically in line with the situation of sudden sports death." From Zhang Zhijie falling to the ground in 0 minutes and 27 seconds to being carried out of the field in 2 minutes and 26 seconds, the on-site medical personnel did not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other first aid measures on him in these 2 minutes. The doctor believed: "Judging from the video at the scene, it is true that the rescue response is a little sluggish. The most critical thing for sudden sports death is to rescue it as soon as possible. After judging that the player is unconscious, the on-site medical personnel should immediately follow the emergency procedures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an AED (automated external defibrillator). ”
Dr. Lu Xiao of the Emergency Department of the Second Hospital of Zhejiang University posted an article about the matter, saying that after watching the relevant video, he was extremely distressed: "The sudden death of such a young athlete and the obvious convulsions before the sudden death are very likely to be malignant arrhythmias from my point of view." Then the key to first aid is that the medical personnel or others judge the situation at the first time and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the spot, get the AED and defibrillation, instead of putting the patient on a stretcher and leaving, the patient can be sent to the hospital for first aid while resuscitating, and even ecmo, there is still a great probability of being able to rescue back. The report said that he was sent to the hospital within two minutes, but I don't know if there was first aid at the scene (I didn't see it in the video); First aid on the scene is crucial to the survival of the patient and the subsequent cerebral resuscitation (whether he wakes up or not)......"
Among the foreign fans who watched the game online, many voices accused the Indonesian side of being too slow and amateurish in the on-site medical response:
"I even doubt that the medical team has basic first aid knowledge like cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is too slow."
"Such a sudden fall and convulsions, it may be acute cardiogenic shock, there will be a brief convulsion after falling to the ground and falling into a coma, the organizing committee really has no safety awareness and first aid knowledge, they did not rescue at the first time, the response was too slow, and a whole minute was wasted! I hope it gets better in the end. ”
"Hopefully, after today's incident, we can teach the badminton medical team a lesson, the intensity of this sport is so high, they should be prepared for any emergency, not just waiting to get a spray of medical spray, they should always be vigilant and prepare for basic first aid."
Cases of medical emergencies on the field
It's happened in the past
There have been many cases of medical emergencies on the sports field in the past. The speed and professionalism of on-site treatment is often the difference between life and death.
In 2021, in the match between Denmark and Finland in the group stage of the European Championship, Eriksen suddenly fell to the ground in the 42nd minute of the game, also without any physical contact with others.
After 5 seconds, the referee immediately stopped the game;
Eight seconds later, medical personnel were on the scene for emergency rescue, and the Danish team members began to form a human wall. The audience prayed intently for Erickson.
Fourteen minutes later, with the efforts of everyone, Eriksen, who had suffered a cardiac arrest, finally regained consciousness.
The first aid to Eriksen was a textbook way to save the Danish star's life.
(Source: Hangzhou Traffic 918)