On June 30 of this year, the badminton world was shocked to its core when rising star Zhang Zhi Jie suddenly collapsed and subsequently passed away during a match at the Asian Junior Badminton Mixed Team Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Nearly a month after his untimely passing, his body still remains in Indonesia and has yet to be claimed by family members.
Zhang Zhi Jie’s body still at Indonesia hospital
According to a report by NST, this was confirmed by Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) spokesperson Broto Happy, who said the player’s family requested for the body to remain at the Sardjito Hospital.
The body of Zhang Zhi Jie is still at the hospital. I was informed that the family has asked for one more week to collect it.
“However, we do not know the reason behind their decision,” he said when contacted by Indonesian news outlet Kompas.com.
Broto added that PBSI will oversee the process of repatriating Zhang’s body back to his home country of China.
Meanwhile, Sardjito Hospital legal affairs and public relations head Banu Hermaan said Zhang’s body is currently being stored inside a cooling room at the hospital’s mortuary.
He added that the hospital is waiting for further instructions from Zhang’s family or PBSI in regards to claiming the body.
Summary of events
Zhang’s death occurred during his third match against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano, where he collapsed to the ground and began convulsing.
Despite efforts by the medical team to revive him, he passed away on the same day at 11.20pm (Indonesia time).
Read more about the tragedy here:
