The death of a Chinese teenage badminton player after he collapsed on the court sparked an outcry on Chinese social media.
17-year-old Zhang Zhijie suddenly convulsed and fell to the ground while participating in a youth competition. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Video of the incident, which was widely shared online, paused for about 40 seconds before medical personnel rushed to treat Zhang.
Officials have been heavily criticized and questioned over whether his life could have been saved through faster medical intervention.
Indonesian badminton association PBSI later said he suffered a cardiac arrest.
The Asian Youth Badminton Championships match was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Sunday. Zhang Xiang faced Japan’s Kazuma Kono.
After Zhang collapsed, a man was seen running to help him, but he stopped and appeared to seek further instructions from the sidelines.
A PBSI spokesman later told reporters that the medical team had to abide by a rule that requires the referee’s permission before entering the pitch.
“This is in compliance with the regulations and procedural standards that apply to every international badminton championship,” he said.
The regional body of Badminton World Federation, the sport’s governing body in Asia, also said Zhang was taken to an ambulance within two minutes.
PBSI now plans to ask the federation to re-evaluate the rule so that it can “act more appropriately and more quickly to save athletes if similar situations arise in the future”.
Other professional sports bodies, such as the English Football Association, have similar rules.
But Chinese users of social media platform Weibo expressed strong anger, with many broadly condemning the rule.
“Which is more important, rules or someone’s life?” said a comment that was liked by thousands of people.
“Did they miss the ‘golden period’ to rescue him?” read another comment under the hashtag about Zhang’s death, which has been a trending topic on Weibo in recent days.
Others called for the Badminton World Federation to “overhaul” the rules, with one saying: “Why do we need permission when lives are at stake?”
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency commented on Tuesday morning that the incident “raises serious questions” about emergency response procedures for sporting events.
“No matter how the rules are formulated or how the referees referee, life priority should always be the highest rule on the playing field,” it said.
Zhang was hailed as a rising star in the sport and his death prompted many tributes and condolences.
Badminton Asia said it was “extremely sad”, adding that “the badminton world has lost a talented player”.
