The death of a teenage Chinese badminton player who collapsed on the court has sparked outrage on Chinese social media.
Zhang Zhijie, 17, was participating in a youth match when he suddenly collapsed to the floor during a seizure. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Footage of the incident, widely shared online, shows the incident stopping for about 40 seconds before medical staff rushed to attend to Zhang.
Officials have come under fierce criticism and questioned whether his life could have been saved with quicker medical intervention.
The Indonesian Badminton Association PBSI later said he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
The Asian Junior Badminton Championships match took place in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Sunday, with Zhang playing against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano.
After Zhang collapsed, a man was seen running to help him, but he stopped and appeared to look away from the field for further instructions.
A PBSI spokesman later told reporters that medical teams are subject to regulations that require them to have the referee’s permission before entering the field.
“That is in line with the regulations and procedural standards applicable to all international badminton tournaments,” he said.
Badminton Asia, the regional arm of the Badminton World Federation, the sport’s governing body, also said Zhang was rushed to hospital within two minutes.
PBSI is now planning to ask the federation to re-evaluate this rule so that it can be “more situational, so that we can act more quickly to save athletes if a similar situation occurs in the future”.
Other professional sports organizations, such as the Football Association, have similar regulations.
But on China’s social network Weibo, users expressed anger, with many strongly condemning the regulation.
“What’s more important – the law or someone’s life?” one comment was liked by thousands.
“Did they miss the ‘golden age’ to rescue him?” another comment under the hashtag about Zhang’s death, which has been a trending topic on Weibo for days, wrote.
Others called on the Badminton World Federation to “reconsider” the rules, with one saying: “Why do we need to ask for permission when human lives are at stake?”
China’s state news agency Xinhua published a commentary on Tuesday morning saying the incident “raises important questions” about emergency response procedures at sporting events.
“Regardless of how the rules are constructed or how the referees officiate, the priority of life must always be the highest principle on the playing field,” the report said.
Zhang was hailed as a rising star in the sport and his death has drawn widespread tributes and condolences.
Badminton Asia said it was “deeply saddened” and added that “the badminton world has lost a talented athlete”.
