Chong Wei hopes BWF will assess medical team and playing schedule after Zhijie’s death

PETALING JAYA: There are lessons that we can learn in every tragedy.

And former singles legend Lee Chong Wei hopes the Badminton World Federation (BWF) will make some changes for the betterment of the sport following the death of China’s aspiring junior singles player Zhang Zhijie.

The 17-year-old collapsed at 11-11 in the opening game while playing against Kazuma Kazano of Japan in the team event of the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta on Sunday.

His coach jumped over the A-board, desperate to help his player who was convulsing but was stopped by the umpire, before medical assistance finally arrived.

He was then quickly taken to the hospital via ambulance with the All-Indonesia Badminton Association (PBSI) organising team doing their best to save his life but later, he was pronounced dead at 11.20pm.

In an earlier team event on Saturday, he did well to beat Justin Tay 21-10, 21-11 in the Group D opening match against Singapore.

Chong Wei expressed his condolences to Zhijie’s family and the China team.

“I have played badminton for decades but I have never seen a player collapse during competition and breathe his last,” said the three-time Olympic Games silver medallist.

“He appeared tired and it’s sad to accept the reality that this China’s future top player is gone. I’ve heard of his name, touted to be one of their best.”

While not wanting to blame anyone for the incident, Chong Wei opined that BWF should improve the medical team and review the players’ playing schedule.

“In the junior events, sometimes, quarter-finals and semi-finals are held in the same day, and some players will play after few hours break. In the senior scene, back-to-back tournaments had taken a physical toll on the players,” he said.

“I was not there and it is not right to say what went wrong or right.

“Overall though, I feel that BWF can get their medical team to be more alert.

“And I think, it’s high time that BWF review their match and tournament schedule. Just look at tennis, for instance, the ongoing Wimbledon, the players are given space to recover.

“Over the years, I’ve seen what back-to-back tournaments can do to players. It can bring harm to them in the long run.

“Like everyone, I don’t want to see another player suffer the same fate like Zhijie while playing the game.”