What a pity! Objectively, Zhang Zhijie has a physical illness, but subjectively it cannot be ruled out that the referee is indifferent, the medical rescue is unprofessional, and the event organizer is sloppy.
Event recap
On June 30, 2024, Zhang Zhijie participated in the 2024 Asian Youth Badminton Championships held in Indonesia, and on the way to play against Japanese player Kawano Shoujin, he suddenly fell to the ground, and his body immediately convulsed. After being taken to the hospital, Zhang Zhijie died at 23:20 on the same day.
On July 1, 2024, the Indonesian side announced that Zhang Zhijie had no pulse and spontaneous breathing when he arrived at the hospital, and the hospital then gave him 3 hours of cardiac resuscitation. At 20:50, the hospital thought that Zhang Zhijie had died, and the Chinese Badminton Association sent Zhang Zhijie to another hospital, where he was resuscitated for another 90 minutes, and the hospital announced Zhang Zhijie's death at 23:20.
The indifference of the referee
Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground, 5 seconds after his body had convulsions, the coach with a confused face entered the field, and he was about to step forward to check he was stopped by the referee (when the referee spoke, the Japanese players also looked in the direction of the referee), the coach had to stop, looked back at the outside of the field, and seemed to be looking for medical assistance, at this time Zhang Zhijie stopped convulsions and lay on the ground and couldn't move.
Suddenly, Zhang Zhijie, who was lying on the ground and couldn't move, moved his limbs again, and even raised his head, holding his hands on the ground as if he wanted to get up, but he couldn't do it and couldn't get up, and then he lay on the ground and couldn't move. After 17 seconds, the referee signaled Zhang Zhijie's coach to leave the court. The coach left the field and motioned for medical rescuers to hurry in.
Unprofessionalism of medical rescue
Eighteen seconds later, the first medical rescuer entered the venue with a medical kit, followed by another medical rescuer, possibly a volunteer. When medical rescuers checked on Zhang, Zhang's feet moved again, and rescuers then flipped him over.
After that, a third medical rescuer, possibly a volunteer, also entered the venue. Because the first medical rescuer had his back to the camera, it was impossible to see what he was doing at the time, but it was certain that he did not resuscitate Zhang Zhijie's heart. After 58 seconds, a stretcher appeared on the screen, and Zhang Zhijie was carried onto the stretcher. After 19 seconds, Zhang Zhijie was lifted and taken to the hospital.
It is not known how long it took to get to the hospital, but the first hospital where Zhang Zhijie was admitted said that Zhang Zhijie had no pulse and was breathing on his own when he arrived at the hospital.
The organizers were sloppy?
Is it sloppy on the part of the organizers that the organizers did not prepare AED equipment (automated external defibrillators) at the venue? I don't think so.
Judging from the current situation, all major sports events will be equipped with AED equipment. Back in 2013, the FIFA Executive Committee mandated that all FIFA matches and FIFA matches must have AEDs on the touchline. The well-known Danish star Eriksen, who suddenly fell to the ground and fell into a coma when he participated in a game on June 12, 2021, was saved by medical staff who used AED equipment to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Eriksen.
Although the badminton tournament held by Indonesia this time is not as good as FIFA's events, it is also an international event. There is no AED on the sidelines of the field, which is definitely not sloppy, but a fluke.
Zhang Zhijie has a high probability of sudden cardiac death
Liu Li, deputy director of the emergency department of Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said after watching the live video: "My colleagues and I generally believe that the symptoms triggered by cardiogenic diseases, due to Zhang Zhijie's young age and no information on the history of the underlying disease, may be caused by malignant arrhythmias, resulting in cardiac arrest." ”
In sudden cardiac death, resuscitation is the key. In the rescue, it is known as the "golden four minutes", the longer the time drags on, the lower the probability of successful rescue. AED equipment (automated external defibrillator) is the key equipment for rescue.
From the moment Zhang Zhijie fell to the ground to being lifted on a stretcher, the calculation time was 5 seconds + 17 seconds + 18 seconds + 58 seconds + 19 seconds = 117 seconds. In other words, this operation wasted half of the time in the "golden four minutes" of rescue on the spot. If the medical rescue personnel were more professional at that time and performed cardiac resuscitation on Zhang Zhijie, if the organizers were equipped with AED equipment in the arena, they might have been able to save the life of our 17-year-old player.
This is a bloody lesson.