Text: Science Explorer
Editor|Popular Science Explorer
On June 30, 2024, the 2024 Asian Youth Badminton Championships were in full swing at the Bali Stadium in Indonesia. China's 17-year-old Zhang Zhijie is battling out a fierce men's singles clash with his Japanese rivals. The score was 11:11, and the situation on the field was stalemate.
However, at this seemingly ordinary moment, the unexpected struck suddenly. Zhang Zhijie suddenly fell forward to the ground, and then his body began to twitch uncontrollably. There was an uproar at the scene, and everyone didn't expect such a thing to happen.
According to a live video about 2 minutes and 45 seconds long that circulated later, we can restore the scene at that time:
Twenty-seven seconds after he fell to the ground, a man in a red T-shirt — suspected to be Mr. Zhang's coach — walked briskly into the room. He leaned over to inspect Zhang Zhijie's condition, but was quickly signaled by the referee to leave the field. At this time, Zhang Zhijie seemed to be still somewhat conscious, and he could raise his head and try to support the ground with his hands, but unfortunately he couldn't get up.
After the coach left, the scene began to call medical personnel. About 1 minute and 7 seconds after Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground, medical personnel finally entered the venue and conducted a preliminary examination on him. Nearly a minute later, the stretcher was sent to the field. 2 minutes and 13 seconds after he fell to the ground, two volunteers and four medical personnel carried Zhang Zhijie onto a stretcher. In the end, 2 minutes and 26 seconds after falling to the ground, Zhang Zhijie was carried away from the competition venue.
This short period of more than two minutes has become a critical moment to save Zhang Zhijie's life. However, unfortunately, despite being sent to the hospital in time, Zhang Zhijie still passed away at 23:20 local time. This bad news quickly spread all over the Internet, causing widespread attention and discussion.
In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the incident, the reporter interviewed two emergency department experts from a tertiary hospital in Chongqing. After watching the video from the scene, they questioned the rescue process.
The first emergency physician noted: "Judging from the video, Zhang Zhijie's condition is consistent with the characteristics of sudden sports death. In this case, the most important thing is to rescue as soon as possible. He believes that the response of the medical suspect at the scene was a bit sluggish, and after confirming that the athlete was unconscious, he should immediately perform CPR and use an AED (automated external defibrillator).
Another director of the emergency department analyzed the shortcomings in the rescue at the scene in more detail. "In such a large international event, the site should be equipped with AEDs," he stressed. As long as the electrodes are attached, it can quickly determine whether ventricular fibrillation occurs and whether defibrillation is needed. "
The director also pointed out three key mistakes in the field rescue:
First of all, the patient was not assessed in the first place. From the time Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground and the medical personnel entered the scene, there was an interval of 40 seconds.
Secondly, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED defibrillation were not performed at the scene. This is a crucial step when dealing with suspected cardiac arrest.
In the end, the golden 4-minute first aid time was not grasped. The correct course of action would be to transfer the patient to an ambulance while performing chest compressions, but this was not done at the scene.
However, there seems to be a discrepancy in the accounts of the parties regarding the situation of the rescue at the scene. The Asian Badminton Federation said in a report afterwards that Zhang Zhijie was sent to an ambulance within 2 minutes after he fainted. This does not seem to match what is presented in the live video, which raises some questions.
After the incident, a netizen suspected of being Zhang Zhijie's sister posted on social media, questioning the timeliness of the on-site treatment. In this regard, the Chinese Badminton Association issued an announcement through official channels, expressing condolences to Zhang Zhijie's family, and saying that it is maintaining close contact with relevant parties and will announce new information in a timely manner.
The reporter also tried to contact the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau, where Zhang Zhijie worked, but could not get an effective response. The staff said that the matter was not within their responsibility and could not provide contact information for the badminton team.
At present, the specific cause of Zhang Zhijie's death has not been clarified. Further examinations and identifications are underway at the local hospital. In any case, it is indeed extremely regrettable that a young life has left like this.
At the age of 17, he was in his prime, and he should have a bright future. Life is impermanent, may the deceased rest in peace.