At the 2024 Asian Youth Badminton Championships, Chinese singles player Zhang Zhijie fainted in the group stage against the Japanese team, and died at 23:20 local time on June 30 after being rescued by the medical department of the organizing committee and local hospitals.
Zhang Zhijie's sudden death was full of controversy, judging from the situation at the time, the on-site rescue measures were not timely, including but not limited to the referee not allowing the coach to come forward to contact the athletes, the on-site medical staff entered the stadium slowly, and was not equipped with defibrillators, which became controversial points. It has been more than 3 minutes from Zhang Zhijie fainting to being treated and then being carried on a stretcher and sent to the hospital for treatment, and it can be basically determined that Zhang Zhijie's sudden death was affected by certain factors of untimely rescue.
However, the Asian Badminton Association and the local Indonesian Badminton Association made it clear in the announcement that Zhang Zhijie was taken to the hospital by ambulance in less than two minutes.
On July 1, the Chinese Badminton Association expressed deep condolences for Zhang Zhijie's unfortunate death on the court, which focused on revealing that the local hospital in Indonesia has not yet clarified the cause of Zhang Zhijie's death, which makes the outside world even more confused about the incident and questions the local medical level.
Zhang Zhijie's sister spoke out for her younger brother on social media, and directly and publicly bombarded the lack of timely rescue at that time, specifically saying: "He was only 17 years old, and after a long wait for medical personnel to arrive after falling to the ground on the field, you said that the treatment would be carried out as soon as possible, and that the local medical conditions were too poor, so how could I accept it!" ”
Any life should be cherished, and the same is true for Zhang Zhijie, as a talented figure in the field of Chinese badminton, he has won 5 national championships at the age of 17 and was selected for the national youth team at the age of 16, he should have had a promising life, but his life stopped on June 30, 2024.
The impact of this incident is growing, because Zhang Zhijie's example shows the organizers' disregard for the lives of athletes, which has a huge hidden danger, if a similar situation unfortunately occurs again in the future, will more badminton players be in danger of their lives?
In the 2021 European Cup, athlete Eriksen suddenly fell to the ground, and only 8 seconds later, the team doctor rushed into the field for rescue, and 37 seconds later, medical personnel with emergency equipment rushed into the field; After 52 seconds, the AED device arrived; After 96 seconds, cardiopulmonary resuscitation begins; In the end, Eriksen's life was saved, and he was regained from subsequent treatment and is now competing at Euro 2024 in Germany!
Eriksen's example proves that athletes can be rescued if they have heart problems on the spot, but they need to be fully prepared, but Zhang Zhijie's Indonesian Badminton Association, the organizer of this competition, obviously did not make such preparations, and Zhang Zhijie's family should be given an explanation!
(Lin Xiaoxiang)