VIDEO: Chinese teenage shutter's death sparks outcry as viral video shows man seeks referee's permission to check on him

Jakarta: Death of a Chinese teenage badminton player who collapsed on court has sparked an outcry across Chinese social media.

Zhang Zhijie, 17, was competing in a youth match when he suddenly fell to the floor in convulsions. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, a BBC report said.

Video of the incident, shared online, showed a nearly 40-second pause before medics attended to Zhang, the BBC said.

Officials have come under intense criticism and questions on whether his life could have been saved by quicker medical intervention, the BBC reported.

Indonesia's badminton association PBSI later said he had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

Zhang was playing against Kazuma Kawano of Japan at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta on Sunday.

After Zhang collapsed, a man is seen running to help him, but he stops short and appears to look off court for further instruction.

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June 30: 17-year-old badminton player Zhang Zhijiedied after collapsing on the court during a mixed team match — while playing his boys singles match against Kazuma Kawano — at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. pic.twitter.com/X8jYN2Jmd3

— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) July 1, 2024 >

A PBSI spokesman later told reporters that medical teams had to follow a rule where they needed the referee's permission before entering the court.

Badminton Asia, the regional arm of the sport's governing body Badminton World Federation, also said Zhang was taken to an ambulance within two minutes.

PBSI is now planning to ask the federation to re-evaluate this rule so it can be "more situational, for actions to be taken more quickly so that athletes can be saved if there is a similar case in the future".

Chinese users of social media platform Weibo expressed anger widely condemning the rule.

"Which is more important - the rules or someone's life?" said a comment which was liked by thousands.

Chinese news agency Xinhua published a commentary on Tuesday saying the incident "raised critical questions" about emergency response procedures at sports events.

"Regardless of how rules are formulated or how referees officiate, prioritising life should always be the highest rule on the playing field," it said.