“Zhang collapsed on the court during a match in the evening and was sent to hospital where he passed away at 23.20 local time yesterday.
“Zhang was playing a group stage match against Japan when he collapsed and was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team.
“He was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to hospital. The world of badminton has lost a talented player,” said governing body Badminton Asia in a statement.
The 17-year-old Zhang was waiting for a serve from his opponent in the first game when he suddenly collapsed before the medical team rushed to his aid.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia were among those who paid tribute to the late young shuttler.
Zhang was selected for the Chinese national youth team last year after achieving considerable success which saw him win a boys’ singles title in China back in 2022.
This year, he also won the Dutch Junior International boys’ singles title.
