(Yicai) July 2 -- Chinese medical experts have called for better first aid capabilities at sports events after a young Chinese badminton player died during an international tournament.

Medical emergency teams are a must for professional and semi-professional competitions, and they should beprofessionally trained for onsite first aid, said Ge Yunshen, deputy chief physician of the sports medicine department of Huashan Hospital, which is affiliated with the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University. Otherwise, the organizers will be at a loss when there is a real emergency if they just pretend to be capable by using unprofessional personnel,  said Ge. 

Zhang Zhijie, 17, suddenly fainted during the last game of the team competition’s group stage at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Indonesia on June 30 and passed away after the medical team failed to rescue him, the Badminton Asia, the Badminton Association of Indonesia, and the Chinese Badminton Association announced yesterday. The specific cause of death and the onsite first aid process were not disclosed.

The live video of the tournament showed that Zhang fell to the ground, and a staff member, likely a referee, approached him to check after seven seconds. The medical personnel arrived at the scene after over 30 seconds but without an automated external defibrillator or cardiopulmonary resuscitation first aid kit.

The cause of death is unclear from the video, Ge noted. But the most likely causes of sudden deaths like Zhang’s are related to unknown heart, brain, and vascular diseases, Chen Shiyi, a medical expert, told Yicai.

Timely CPR and defibrillation are crucial in emergencies like cardiac arrest, according to a cardiologist. Statistics show that in emergencies, such measures taken within one minute of the accident can increase the survival rate by 90 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione